What is the Goiânia accident?
The Goiânia accident was a radioactive contamination accident that occurred on September 13, 1987, at Goiânia, in the Brazilian state of Goiás, after a forgotten radiotherapy source was taken from an abandoned hospital site in the city.
What happened in Goiania Brazil?
Fig. 1:Image of the Goiania where the accident occurred. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) On September 13th of 1987 a nuclear incident occurred in Goiania Brazil (shown in Fig. 1). The accident was caused primarily because of radioactive contamination of an abandoned piece of hospital machinery.
What happened to the Goiânia radiation therapy source?
On September 13, 1987, scavengers combing through an abandoned clinic in Goiânia, the capital city of Goiás state, found a radiation therapy source that had been left behind. The lead and steel canister looked innocent enough, but it held a small capsule with an iridium window, full of highly radioactive cesium chloride.
What happened in the Goiânia scrap metal case?
On the 13th of September, 1987, two men entered an abandoned property not far from the airport in Goiânia, in the Brazilian state of Goiás. They were looking for anything that might be of value – something like scrap metal; this was one of the poorer parts of the city, and they were presumably just trying to make a living for their families.
What is the Goiânia radiotherapy accident?
On September 13th, 1987 a radioactive contamination accident took place in Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil. The accident occurred after an old radiotherapy source was stolen from an abandoned hospital site.
What happened in the Goiânia radioactive contamination?
On September 13th, 1987 a radioactive contamination accident took place in Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil. The accident occurred after an old radiotherapy source was stolen from an abandoned hospital site. The incident resulted in four deaths, and 249 people who were found to carry high levels of radioactive material.
What happened in the Brazilian town of Goiânia?
Nothing goes to waste where people are living on the breadline, and few opportunities to make a little extra money get overlooked. And so it was in the Brazilian town of Goiânia in September 1987. Scavengers were combing through an abandoned clinic when they found a radiation therapy source that had been carelessly left.