The material could not be used in a conventional nuclear weapon but could in theory be put in a so-called "dirty bomb," an explosive device spreading the radioactive material over a wide area.Įxperts have long warned about the danger posed by the large amounts of such material held in hospitals and other locations around the world under insufficient security. Ambassador de Sadesky : Cobalt chlorine G has a radioactive half-life of 93 years. "The Mexican authorities are currently conducting a search for the source and have issued a press release to alert the public," the IAEA said in a statement. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. 2 theft by Mexico's CNSNS nuclear security authority. The IAEA said it was informed about the Dec. However, the source could be extremely dangerous to a person if removed from the shielding, or if it was damaged," it said. A dirty bomb or radiological dispersal device is a radiological weapon that combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. "At the time the truck was stolen, the source was properly shielded. The idea behind a dirty bomb is to blast radioactive material into the area. The truck was transporting a cobalt-60 teletherapy source from a hospital in the northern city of Tijuana to a radioactive waste storage centre when it was stolen in Tepojaco near Mexico City, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. Cobalt-60, produced by neutron irradiation of ordinary cobalt metal in a reactor, is a high activity gamma-ray emitter, emitting 1.17 and 1. (dirty bombs), bombing or destroying a nuclear facility (low probability). Thieves in Mexico have stolen a truck containing potentially "extremely dangerous" radioactive material used in medical treatment, the UN atomic watchdog said Dec. Held at close range, this amount of cobalt-60 would irradiate a person with approximately 0.5 gray of ionizing radiation per minute. 'Extremely dangerous' radioactive material stolen in Mexico: IAEA VIENNA - Agence France-Presse
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