Thieves in Mexico Have Been Unwittingly Stealing Lots of Radioactive Material Michelle Geslani - UPROXX
go to original April 19, 2015

Authorities in five Mexican states are on alert after thieves stole potentially deadly radioactive material last week. The iridium-192, which is used for industrial radiography, was inside a container when it was stolen from a truck in Cardenas, a town in southern Tabasco state. (Wochit News)

While reports of theft are hardly uncommon in Mexico, there’s a new trend on the rise in regards to the goods that are being pilfered. It’s not money, nor drugs, but oddly enough... radioactive material.

Earlier this week, a load of iridium-192 was taken from a vehicle in Tabasco, leading the Mexican government to go on high alert. Though it was properly encased at the time, just one day of exposure can result in death. The scary incident is just the latest in a string of similar crimes in the country. What’s even more frightening? Police officials believe looters are stealing the dangerous matter by accident.

“I want to be clear that the motive was not to steal the radioactive material,” he [Alejandro Cortes Carmona, the deputy director of Mexico’s nuclear safety commission] said. “It was simply to take everything that they found in the vehicle. And they took the radioactive material in its container without knowing what was inside.”

Upon discovering the radioactive material, Cortes says many of the thieves simply discard it wherever they see fit with little to no regard or use of the proper protocol — thus putting more people at risk of fatal exposure. Authorities, in collaboration with the companies that own materials like iridium-192, are hoping to make the transport of such hazardous compounds more secure going forward.

See the original at UPROXX

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