UN warning as 'extremely dangerous' radioactive material stolen in Mexico

[n2doc]

By Hannah Strange,

The United Nations' nuclear watchdog issued a warning on Wednesday after a truck carrying dangerous radioactive material that could be used in a dirty bomb was stolen in Mexico.

The vehicle, carrying cobalt-60, a substance used for radiotherapy treatment to combat cancer, was stolen on Monday while transporting the load from a hospital in Tijuana to a radioactive waste storage centre.

Mexican authorities were working to locate the material, which could not be used in a conventional nuclear weapon but could in theory be put in a dirty bomb - an explosive device which would spread the substance over a large area.

Experts have long warned about the danger posed by the large amounts of such material held in hospitals and other locations around the world under insufficient security.

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/mexico/10494018/UN-warning-as-extremely-dangerous-radioactive-material-stolen-in-Mexico.html

[MineralMan]

1. Interestingly enough, the actual quantity was not mentioned

in the article. So, we have no idea how much Cobalt-60 was stolen. That would be useful information, wouldn't it?

[whttevrr]

2. The silence on this is deafening.

[Blue_Tires]

3. Any chance this is an inside job or a scam?