The radioactive source box which had disappeared has finally been found.

David Barrios Gómez

Nuclear weapons and radioactive sources are probably one of the most powerful weapons, and can destroy an entire city. Even small amounts of nuclear and radioactive material can be extremely dangerous. If an individual does not know how to use it or handle it, they may provoke a big accident.

On April 11, over a week ago, robbers stole a radioactive source box containing Lithium 192 inside from an enterprise named “Garantía de Calidad S.A. de C.V.” in Teoloyucan, Mexico. This element is very dangerous for people, environment, and animals. Radioactivity provokes illnesses, body deformations, mutations, cancer, and even death. These boxes are used in industries, since they produce X-rays for factories.

If the box were to be opened, any individual who had been approximately 20 meters close to it would have had life-harming effects on them. 9 states were alerted, since they were the closest to the place where the box was stolen; those states being Estado de México, Ciudad de México, Hidalgo, Querétaro, Michoacán, Guerrero, Morelos, Puebla y Tlaxcala.

It would have been a problem for the nearby states because the contamination released from the box could have been spread by air or water. If the box stayed closed, then nothing would happen, but if for some reason someone opened the box a tragedy could have occurred.

It is important to remark that the main purpose of the robbers was not to steal the box, but to steal a truck; they didn’t expect that stealing the truck would include stealing a radioactive box.

On April 12, the box was found on Teoloyucan, Estado de Mexico, on the highway. Someone had left the box there because the police had put out a warning mentioning that if someone had seen the radioactive box, to call the police and return it. The box was in the best conditions; not opened. The “Comisión Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear y Salvaguardias” in Mexico, stated that the box was saved on a cooler, closed, and not presenting a risk for the cities and citizens.

After the box was found the government released the following statement “The National Civil Protection Coordination raises the alert and deactivates emergency protocols. The General Coordination of Civil Protection of the State of Mexico notified this afternoon that the industrial radiography equipment stolen on April 11, which housed a radioactive source of Iridium-192, was located in the vicinity of Tecámac, State of Mexico. It should be noted that said container was in optimal physical and radiological safety conditions, so the owner of the equipment, in consultation with the National Security Nuclear Safeguards Commission, determined that it did not represent any risk to the population and we proceeded to do what was conducive to its protection. The authorities in charge of investigating and prosecuting the crime of theft carry out the corresponding investigations. By virtue of the foregoing, the National Civil Protection Coordination lifts the alert issued and thanks the members of the National Civil Protection, the population and the media for their support in spreading the alert and determines to deactivate the emergency protocols.”

Finally, the identity of the robbers is still being investigated, but we can rest and be calm because the box is back with the enterprise “Garantía de Calidad S.A. de C.V.”, owners of the radioactive source box. Luckily no one opened the box, and we can be grateful that they received the message for not unlocking it, this way protecting everyone’s health.

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