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Medical Radioactive Material Truck Stolen In Mexico
An anonymous reader writes "A medical radioactive material truck has been stolen just outside Mexico City. From the article: 'BBC world affairs correspondent Rajesh Mirchandani says Cobalt-60 could theoretically be used in a so-called "dirty bomb" - an explosive device that could spread radioactive material over a wide area - although there is no official suggestion this was the purpose of the theft. Mexican police are currently conducting a search for the truck and its contents and have issued a press release to alert the public to its potential dangers.'"
Kind of embarrassing for Slashdot to post this now, considering the truck has already been found. Apparently the container was opened, but it appears (at least most of) the Cobalt-60 is still intact.
Considering the infrastructure and expense required to ship something like this (special shielded containers, etc), why don't they include a tracking device? Even a cheapo cell phone can be used as a tracking device, which is better than nothing.
Better known as 318230.
Probably stolen by people who didn't know what it contained.
You're too late.
Next story.
Just wow. The mainstream news articles confirming that the radioactive material was located were posted more than a half hour ago.
1984, Ciudad Juarez: http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/nuclear/radevents/1983MEX1.html
The NSA tracked it.
They just responded to the Mexican's request for information with a redacted report saying:
It's located right [XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX].
Good luck [XXXXXXXXXXXX] your [XXXXXXXXXXXX].
NSA
I knew a post-doc that worked with the stuff at the University of Chicago. One thing they tested with it was to see how long a rat would live being exposed to it. They had some kind of lead door between the rat and the source..I don't remember the specific number, but it wasn't all that long-- probably renal failure due to their kidneys not being able to handle such a massive amount of cell death... The exposure rate constant of Cobalt-60 is 1,350mR-m^2 / hr-Ci, and has a half life of 5.27 years. I wonder if the guys that opened it up are experiencing radiation sickness?
Glad it was already found.
To understand the risks that this type of events involve check what happened in Brazil several years ago when radioactive medical material went missing and ended up killing several people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goi%C3%A2nia_accident
I recalled this incident when I heard that story today. Some brain dead hospital admins left a machine with Caesium 137 in the hospital after it had been closed and abandoned. It was stolen and eventually ended up in the hands of people who had no idea what it was.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goi%C3%A2nia_accident
The most chilling part is the little kid who painted designs on her chest with it.
(!!!!)
They found it with a detector and they say that people who manipulated the box will die because of the exposure. Nobody else is in risk.
It's powered by Cobalt-60 .....
Why would you insult the meta-moderation script like that? How is a script supposed to know which articles are time-sensitive? Oh, were you under the impression that some human is involved in choosing stories, aside from us users who hit the meta-mod page once a month? I don't see any sign of intelligent life.
"The container holding cobalt was found about a kilometer away from the truck and had been opened, he said." ..."At around 1 a.m. Monday, a man armed with a handgun knocked on the passenger window. When the passenger rolled down his window, the gunman demanded the keys to the vehicle, Morales said. Both the driver and his assistant were taken to an empty lot where they were bound and told not to move. They heard one of the assailants use a walkie-talkie type device or phone to tell someone, "It's done," Morales said." http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/04/world/americas/mexico-radioactive-theft/ [cnn.com]
You're telling me that the contents of a medical supply truck could be dangerous?!
Sure. For example, they could cause a larger loss of life than a few recent nuclear reactor meltdowns. They probably wouldn't result in the long term loss of real estate though unless someone deliberately spread the isotope via a well-designed dirty bomb.
A dirty bomb isn't a crime of opportunity, any more than another type of bomb. Let's not pretend otherwise.
Maybe not, but when the theft was discovered, nobody had any way of knowing if the thieves knew what they were taking. I think that the authorities were afraid that it was stolen specifically for the cobalt, and if so, if somebody was planning to build a dirty bomb for some insane reason.
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Could you make a 'stealth bomb' instead? Rather than spread by explosive, pose as someone spraying for insects or mix it in with paint. Spray the offices of a target organisation. People don't walk around with giger counters - it could be months before someone realises this new cluster of strange illness is focused on a single workplace, and months more before anyone thinks to try the long-shot theory of radiation poisoning. By which time some of the employees are seriously ill, all of them have an elevated cancer risk, and the building has to be closed for weeks while it is decontaminated. Also gives you plenty of time to cover your tracks.
Almost, but you forgot to blame Obama somehow.
If a dirty radiological bomb is set off and panick subsequentely kill people, you can point the finger at journalist and media not doing their proper job to inform people about the real risk.
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But what about his nemesis?:
http://www.window.state.tx.us/border/ch09/cobalto.html
"In the prison where he still awaits sentencing, the guards call him El Cobalto - the Cobalt Man."
for "Machete Kills Again"!
Good luck Mexico, your friends.
I feel bad for the thieves actually; this almost like the start of a scifi movie. The thieves apparently just wanted to steal the truck, not realizing what the cargo was. When they looked through the cargo, they probably didn't know what it was, so they just popped open the containment unit, apparently took the Cobalt-60 out by hand, and dumped it in a field. Those poor sods might have picked up a lethal dose of radiation; the news was saying direct exposure could lead to death in just one to three days. Stolen Cobalt-60 Found Abandoned In Mexico
Sounds far more effective to me. Radiological bombs are overrated IMHO as a terror weapon.
This is why international terrorism (tm) will lose (if our respective governments wouldn't keep bigging them up) - they just don't have the imagination, intelligence and wherewithal to do things like that.