Cobalt-60 is a radioactive material used in hospital radiotherapy machines. Due to its half-life it eventually weakens and needs to be replaced. However, even the less radioactive cobalt-60 that remains is still extremely dangerous. It needs to be transported in a shielded container to a storage facility that can safely handle it.
In 2013 such material was being transported from a hospital in Tiajuana to a storge facility in central Mexico. When the drivers stopped at a gas station some armed men hijacked the truck and the container with the cobalt-60. There was fear at the time that it would be used for a dirty bomb, but the hijackers were simply after the truck and had no idea what its cargo was. They, after exposing themselves to a high dose of radiation, discarded the cobalt pellets in a field.
The above video discusses that incident, and details the steps taken to find and recover the cobalt-60 pellets.
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