Hazardous radioactive material stolen in Mexico
Mexican authorities have issued an alert after thieves stole a container full of radioactive material used for industrial radiography.
The container holding iridium-192 source, marked X-571, was inside a truck in Cardenas, a town in southern Tabasco state.
The interior ministry has informed civil authorities in the states of Tabasco, Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca and Veracruz, as well as the federal police, the navy and the army, to be on watch for the dangerous material.
The ministry has also warned the public that the stolen material "could cause permanent injuries to the person who handles it [without protection], or who has been in contact with it for a brief time."
"Being close to this quantity of unprotected radioactive material for [minutes,] hours or days could be fatal," the ministry stated.
Radioactive theft
This is not the first case of radioactive material theft reported in Mexico.
In December 2013, thieves, unaware of what they were stealing, took a truck containing highly radioactive cobalt-60 from a cancer-treating medical center near Mexico City. Police found the thieves and recovered the potentially lethal radioactive material, with no casualties.
A similar incident took place in July 2014 which Mexican authorities handled, also without any fatalities.
Once more in February 2015, authorities recovered three stolen trucks in central Mexico that had been transporting radioactive material for industrial use.
In the recent theft, which took place on Monday, government authorities have urged people not to go near, or touch, the radioactive material if found, and inform the police immediately.
The stolen truck belonged to the Garantia Radiografica e Ingenieria company.
XLS/NN/HMV
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