Radioactive Material Theft Alert Spreads to Seven Mexican States, Digi Mart USA News (Tlaxcala, Mexico): The alert over the theft of radioactive material used in medicine in Tlaxcala has spread to Hidalgo and five other states after nine boxes of substances used in nuclear medicine were taken from a vehicle that overturned on the Huamantla-Tlaxcala highway. Because of the risk of exposure, authorities have asked the public not to handle suspicious objects and to report any findings by calling 911.
The incident occurred during the early hours of Saturday, November 7, when the vehicle carrying the shipment crashed while traveling toward Veracruz. The material came from the National Institute of Nuclear Research (ININ), located in La Marquesa, State of Mexico, and was bound for the city of Xalapa.
After the theft became known, the National Civil Protection Coordination (CNPC) notified authorities in Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Morelos, Puebla and Veracruz, where actions were activated to locate the substances.
According to the National Commission for Nuclear Safety and Safeguards (CNSNS), the shipment consisted of nine boxes: three containing Technetium generators, four containing Iodine-131, one containing Thallium and one containing Samarium.
Although the substances are classified in Category 4 of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which covers radioactive sources of relatively low risk, handling them without protection can cause harm to health.
One of the main risks is that the condition of the containers is unknown and it is not clear whether they remain intact, so authorities have insisted that any contact with them be avoided.
Civil Protection in Hidalgo asked the public not to touch, open, move or transport boxes or packages that could belong to the stolen shipment.
Authorities warned that no one should attempt to recover the containers on their own, since handling them requires specialized personnel and radiological protection measures.
If a suspicious object is found, residents were advised to move away, keep others from approaching, and establish a security perimeter of at least five meters.
