Goiania Radiation Leak: Stolen Source Contaminates City
Two men stole a cesium-137 teletherapy source from an abandoned radiotherapy clinic in Goiania, Brazil, on September 13, 1987, pried open the lead housing, and sold the glowing blue powder to a junkyard dealer. Over the following two weeks, the luminescent cesium chloride was passed from hand to hand through the community. Children rubbed the sparkling powder on their skin. One six-year-old girl ate a sandwich with contaminated hands. By the time health authorities identified the source, 249 people were contaminated, 20 were hospitalized, and 4 died, including the little girl. Over 85,000 people demanded screening. The incident remains the worst radiological accident in the Western Hemisphere and exposed the catastrophic consequences of abandoning medical radiation sources.
September 13, 1987
39 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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