The Cellar - Mexican Radioactive Material Theft

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The Cellar (http://cellar.org/index.php)

- Current Events (http://cellar.org/forumdisplay.php?f=4)

- - Mexican Radioactive Material Theft (http://cellar.org/showthread.php?t=29697)

xoxoxoBruce

12-04-2013 04:19 PM

Mexican Radioactive Material Theft

Quote:

Mexico has informed the IAEA's Incident and Emergency Centre (IEC) of the theft of a truck carrying a dangerous radioactive source used in medical treatment.

Mexico's "Comisión Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear y Salvaguardias (CNSNS)" said the truck, which was transporting the cobalt-60 teletherapy source from a hospital in the northern city of Tijuana to a radioactive waste storage centre, was stolen in Tepojaco near Mexico City at around 08:00 UTC on 2 December 2013.

At the time the truck was stolen, the source was properly shielded. However, the source could be extremely dangerous to a person if removed from the shielding, or if it was damaged.

The Mexican authorities are currently conducting a search for the source and have issued a press release to alert the public.

Can you say Dirty Bomb?

tw	12-04-2013 11:46 PM

Can you say dead thief?

Happy Monkey

12-05-2013 09:46 AM

Quote:

However, the source could be extremely dangerous to a person if removed from the shielding, or if it was damaged.

From what I heard on NPR, the material was removed from the shielding, and discarded a ways away from the shielding container. So yes, dead thief, most likely.

glatt

12-05-2013 10:05 AM

1 Attachment(s)

Do they use the international radiation symbol in Mexico? I know there's the whole machismo thing in some cultures, but it takes a certain kind of curious cat to open a sealed container with a radioactive symbol on it.

Quote:

On February 15, 2007, two bodies—the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)—jointly announced the adoption of a new ionizing radiation warning symbol ..... The new symbol is not intended to be generally visible, but rather to appear on internal components of devices that house radiation sources so that if anybody attempts to disassemble such devices they will see an explicit warning not to proceed any further

Even an illiterate Mexican thief should be able to figure out what this means:
Attachment 46144

monster

12-05-2013 10:29 AM

Clearly it means "Day Of The Dead party this way"

Undertoad

12-05-2013 03:29 PM

Found

Quote:

The cobalt-60 was found, removed from its casing, in a rural area near the town of Hueypoxtla, about 25 miles from where the truck was stolen. Jimenez said he suspected that curiosity got the better of the thieves, and they opened the box. So far the carjackers have not been arrested, but authorities expect they will not live long.

“The people who handled it will have severe problems with radiation,” he said. “They will, without a doubt, die.”

Instant karma's gonna get you
Gonna knock you right in the head
You better get a geiger counter
Levels gonna show in the red

And we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Well, we all shine on
Due to ray-dee-ay-shawn

BigV	12-05-2013 05:07 PM

In other news,

Karma, long thought to be a bitch, is really a metal rod.

Big Sarge

12-05-2013 05:58 PM

I still think dirty bomb. Plus a porous border, makes for an interesting situation

BigV	12-05-2013 06:38 PM

So Sarge, you think the cobalt-60 *was not* recovered? Because, there's no dirty with out it, even if somebody does make a bomb.

JBKlyde

12-05-2013 07:49 PM

It means the Heat is ON...

orthodoc

12-06-2013 12:17 AM

From what I read, it couldn't be determined whether all of the Co-60 was recovered. It sounds like the thieves didn't know what they were handling. If they handed some of the material off to a buyer who DID know, however - things may get hot before long.

Happy Monkey

12-06-2013 07:58 PM

They may have been found. Or these two may be collateral damage.

Quote:

A teenager and a young man have been hospitalized with radiation symptoms in a central Mexican state where stolen radioactive material was recovered, authorities said Friday.

Spexxvet

12-09-2013 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad (Post 885081)

Found

Quote:

“They will, without a doubt, die.”

The most obvious statement ever, Captain Obvious.

Big Sarge

12-09-2013 04:15 PM

I'm not sure it was all recovered. It would only take a small device detonated in a mall to create another 9/11 crisis

tw	12-09-2013 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Sarge (Post 885477)

I'm not sure it was all recovered. It would only take a small device detonated in a mall to create another 9/11 crisis

Hardly. A dirty bomb only makes cleanup nastier. But then the same hype and fear even knew that Saddam had WMDs, that we need to bug everyone to protect everyone, and that torture is good.

This radioactive material does not even have a half life anywhere near to something that makes a serious, dangerous, and difficult to clean up 'dirty' bomb - plutonium.

The theft of radioactive material is a serous and newsworthy event. But one should put facts into perspective rather than use Rush Limbaugh fears that it is another 11 September event. But again, the word 'perspective' applies.

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:50 AM.

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