In Mexico, a truck with dangerous radioactive cobalt-60 has been stolen. The International Atomic Energy Agency refers to the material that comes from a medical device, as “extremely dangerous”. The background of theft is still unclear.

Atomic alarm in Mexico: A truck carrying radioactive cobalt-60 has been stolen near the capital Mexico City. He transported a device for cancer therapy from a hospital in the northern Mexican city of Tijuana into a center for radioactive waste. But he never arrived: Unknown raided the transport in Tepojaco and made ​​off with their booty. The incident occurred on Monday, but was not known until now.

Lost What amount of cobalt-60 came so far been unknown. As the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced in Vienna on Wednesday, which is actually intended for medical purposes material “extremely dangerous,” the protective jacket is damaged or removed. Claims to the IAEA was informed on Monday by the Mexican authority for nuclear safety about the incident. At the time of the theft of the radioactive material should have been protected. Unprotected but it is extremely dangerous to humans. The Mexican authorities searched for the material and would have alerted the public.

The truck was reportedly carrying outdated medical equipment used to perform radiotherapy when it was hijacked at a gas station in Tepojaco, Hidalgo – near Mexico City – on Monday, the National Commission of Nuclear Safety and Safeguards (CNSNS) said.

The white Volkswagen Worker semi-trailer had reportedly stopped en route from a hospital in Tijuana to a radioactive waste storage center.

CNSNS authorities said the cobalt-60 teletherapy source posed no health risk as long as the part of the equipment housing the radioactive source is not cracked.

“At the time the truck was stolen, the source was properly shielded. However, the source could be extremely dangerous to a person if removed from the shielding, or if it was damaged,” the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

“The Mexican authorities are currently conducting a search for the source and have issued a press release to alert the public,” the UN nuclear watchdog said. Local authorities have urged calm, telling the public the threat posed by the stolen equipment is minimal.

According to the IAEA, sealed radioactive sources are widely used in medicine for the treatment of malignant diseases and for blood irradiation. Cobalt-60 sources are often deployed in teletherapy, a form of external beam radiotherapy used to treat cancer, and brachytherapy –  also known as internal radiotherapy.

Experts have previously warned that such radioactive sources have long been held by hospitals without sufficient security. Although such materials cannot be employed in a conventional nuclear weapon, they can be put in a so-called “dirty bomb,” a speculative radiological weapon that combines radioactive material with conventional explosives.

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