Cindy...what a strange article. The body of the article says nothing to coincide with the title regarding "radioactive" soil. It seems that journalists can no longer answer the basic questions of who...what...where and why when writing an article. Just makes me think that there is much more to this story, that is not being reported.
Well, here's a snippet of the article:
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Driver tried sneaking radioactive soil"
Source: AP
SANTA TERESA, N.M. -- Border agents say they caught a man trying to sneak radioactive soil into the country from Mexico to avoid paying carrier fees.
A van set off an alert yesterday when it passed through a recently installed radiation portal monitor at the Santa Teresa port of entry.
US Customs and Border Protection officers say they found 49 baggies of soil from Mexico hidden in the door panels."
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I'm not a scientist, but I believe some soils with certain fertilizers set off the radiation detectors. I read that somewhere.
So, when I go to airports, I make sure I don't wear my favorite clogs that I also wear when gardening sometimes.