Radiation is both a blessing and a curse. In the right hands, radiation is a cure for cancer and is the source for all sorts of great medical treatments and whatnot. In the wrong hands, well, it’s probably the most dangerous material imaginable. Even medical waste radioactive material is dangerous in the wrong hands, and a bunch of it just ended up in the wrong hands. A truck full of radioactive medical waste was stolen in Mexico on its way to a waste storage facility. The waste was coming from a hospital in Tijuana when it was taken by armed gunmen. The truck (a 2.5 ton Volkswagen Worker) was stolen at a gas station in Tepojaco, just outside of Mexico City.
“At the time the truck was stolen, the [radioactive] source was properly shielded. However, the source could be extremely dangerous to a person if removed from the shielding, or if it was damaged,” said a statement from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Of course, just because the truck is stolen that doesn’t mean that the nuclear material is heading towards suspected terrorists. Perhaps the target was the truck, not the nuclear material. However, this is Mexico we’re talking about, and if TV has taught me nothing (and it hasn’t), Mexico is lousy with drug gangs, especially the northern area near the border. For all I know narcotrafficos are building dirty bombs as we speak for use against their enemies. Or maybe they just dumped the giant container of radioactive cobalt-60 into the river and are using the truck to haul drugs across the border. I can only hope we’ll find out what’s going on soon.
Tags: cobalt-60, radioactive material stolen in mexico, tijuana, mexico city, mexico, iaea, international atomic energy agency, dirty bombs, radioactive waste stolen in mexico, tepojaco, radioactive material stolen, unusual crimes
