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Goiânia accident
1987 radioactive contamination incident in Brazil / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Goiânia accident [ɡojˈjɐniɐ] was a radioactive contamination accident that occurred on September 13, 1987, in Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil, after an unsecured radiotherapy source was stolen from an abandoned hospital site in the city. It was subsequently handled by many people, resulting in four deaths. About 112,000 people were examined for radioactive contamination and 249 of them were found to have been contaminated.[1][2]
![]() A photograph of the radioactive source involved in the 1987 accident. | |
Date | September 13, 1987; 36 years ago (1987-09-13) |
---|---|
Location | Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil |
Coordinates | 16°40′29″S 49°15′51″W |
Type | Radiation accident |
Cause | Radiation source left unsecured by authorities |
Participants |
|
Outcome | INES Level 5 (accident with wider consequences) |
Deaths | 4 |
Non-fatal injuries | 249 contaminated |
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Teletherapy_Capsule2.svg/320px-Teletherapy_Capsule2.svg.png)
- a sealed outer protective casing (usually lead),
- a retaining ring, and
- a teletherapy "source" (diameter in this diagram is 30 mm), composed in turn of
- two nested stainless steel canisters welded to
- two stainless steel lids surrounding
- a protective internal shield (usually uranium metal or a tungsten alloy), and
- a cylinder of radioactive source material (caesium-137 in the Goiânia incident, but usually cobalt-60)
In the consequent cleanup operation, topsoil had to be removed from several sites, and several houses were demolished. All the objects from within those houses, including personal possessions, were seized and incinerated. Time magazine has identified the accident as one of the world's "worst nuclear disasters" and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called it "one of the world's worst radiological incidents".[3][4]