Posted on 04/13/2021 9:37:43 AM PDT by Heartlander
Direct contact could "prove fatal."
A truck carrying highly radioactive materials has been stolen by armed criminals in central Mexico, The Independent reports.
The Mexican government is now warning that anybody who comes in close contact with its deadly payload could be risking their lives.
The individuals got away with an industrial inspection equipment truck during an armed heist on Sunday in the town of Teoloyucan. Included in the bounty is a QSA Delta 800 gamma ray projector that holds radioactive iridium-192, selenium-75 and ytterbium-169 isotopes — a highly unusual bounty for any hijacker.
It’s still unclear why they targeted the truck in question, but during a previous robbery involving radioactive waste, Mexican authorities feared the ingredients may be used to build a dirty bomb.
Contact with the contents of the truck, authorities emphasized, can be fatal.
“At 10am today, there was a robbery of radiographic equipment reported,” reads a warning issued by the National Commission for Nuclear Security and Safeguarding, as quoted by the Independent. “If the radioactive material is extracted from the container, is moved, or makes direct contact with any persons handling it, permanent injury can occur in minutes.”
“In case of making direct contact with the source over the course of hours or days, the effects can prove fatal,” the warning reads.
Even just being 30 meters away could cause radiation poisoning, according to the Commission.
Members of the Commission for National Civil Protection (CNPC) have been dispatched across the central region of Mexico. Authorities have not ruled out the possibility that the truck may now be in Mexico City.
During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, robberies have been on the rise in Mexico, with increasing reports of medical oxygen tanks being hijacked.
Nuclear materials, though, are an unusual target for any robbery. Plenty of questions remain, with the most obvious one being: what the hell are they planning to do with it? If history is anything to go by — believe it or not, this isn’t the first time hijackers got away with radioactive materials in the country — cartels may be trying to use it as part of a dirty bomb, as The Independent reports. But it’s still unclear if that’s the case here as well.
WHY do they not have an armed convoy of any shipment of importance in that country (or any other country)?
Coming to an American city near you...
No problema. Bidet got us covered.
Border guards will be ordered to let that truck through (radioactive placards and all).
He sure does. There’s a fence in DC.
This has happened before in Mexico. Perhaps the worst event was when radioactive material was discarded in the huge waste pile surrounding Mexico City. Some kids found a heavy canister, opened it, then used the silvery powder inside as body makeup.
The trouble is that except for the robberies of radioactive material, there are rarely any follow up stories of what happened to the victims.
Hyena Harris. Laughs.
Yup, dirty bomb coming soon
I hear Iran might be in the market for some radioactive material.
You can buy these devices online. GOOGLE them. A couple grand and you can own one for yourselves. Looks like they are used for inspection of welds on pipelines. Congressional spending is a bigger concern.
“WHY do they not have an armed convoy of any shipment of importance in that country (or any other country)?”
Because half of the armed people would be on the cartel payroll, and the other half would have kids under threat if they try to interrupt.
> WHY do they not have an armed convoy of any shipment of importance in that country (or any other country)? <
Maybe they don’t trust any guards. “We’re guarding some valuable stuff, and we’ll be in Teoloyucan around noon. And remember, I get a 10% cut for phoning in this tip.”
Cartels will use it for creative ways to torture and kill rivals and the disloyal.
Also in Brazil
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goi%C3%A2nia_accident
Not good.
The bare source is listed on the manufacturer's web site as 0.48 R(oentgens) per hour for the Ir-192 source at one meter. not something you would not willingly expose yourself to, but it is not immediately lethal. As for use in the proverbial “Dirty Bomb” the effects would create a mess to clean up, but the exposure area would be generally limited to the dispersal area of the blast. The blast would likely produce more casualties the the radioisotope dispersion.
At least in the United State you need an NRC license to possess one as well as trained personnel to operate it. It isn’t like you can buy one on Amazon and have it delivered to your home.
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