Dangerous' radioactive material stolen in Mexico
A firefighter stands next to the radiation head in
Hueypoxtla, Mexico on 5 December
In 2013, a truck carrying medical radioactive material was
stolen in Mexico but was recovered days later. Mexican authorities have issued
an alert for five states after the theft of potentially dangerous radioactive
materials.
A container of Iridium-192 used for industrial radiography
was taken from a truck in the town of Cardenas in Tabasco state. The states of
Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca and Veracruz are also on alert.
Mexico's civil protection agency says that the material can
cause death within hours or days if mishandled. "This source is very
dangerous to people if it is removed from its container," the agency
warned in a statement.
The unprotected material can cause burns and permanent
injuries to those who have been in contact with it for just minutes or hours.
'Highly radioactive'
Luis Felipe Puente, head of Mexico's civil protection
agency, urged whoever finds the source to keep it at a distance and call for
help.
The robbery was reported by the company Garantia
Radiografica e Ingenieria which said that the material had been stolen on
Monday.
This is not the first time radioactive materials have gone
missing in Mexico.
Fonte: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-32332271.
Acesso em 16 de abril de 2015.
