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Teletherapy unit taken out of service
The unit was reported to have been taken out of service presumably when the patient treatment times again became too long to be practical. Siemens was no longer manufacturing 60Co teletherapy units so when it was time to be replaced, Nordion, the new supplier, could not accept the return of the old unit since they were not the original manufacturer. Since the hospital did not have sufficient storage space for the old teletherapy unit, it was sold to the new supplier agent (KSE Company). -
Retired teletherapy unit moved to unsecured storage location
In the autumn of 1999, the KSE relocated the teletherapy heads from a secure warehouse it had leased to an unsecured storage location - a car parking lot that was
owned by KSE’s parent company. It was from this location that one of the sources was reportedly stolen. -
Teletherapy unit stolen to be sold as scrap
In late January 2000, several individuals (P1 and P2) obtained access to the unsecured storage location and took the teleradiology unit to sell as scrap metal. The unit did display a radiation trefoil and warning label. However, the individuals did not realize that this indicated radioactive material, and the warning label was not in a language they understood. The unit was stored in an open space about 100 meters from P1’s residence until the end of January -
First symptoms start to show
On the way home, P1 started to experience severe headache and nausea. P3 also felt nauseous and felt an itching sensation in his legs. P5 and P6 started to feel dizzy, had bad headaches, and not long afterwards started to vomit. P6 went home over the weekend - his father said his son looked ill, had lost his appetite and lost weight, and had a sunburn type burn on his skin. -
Trip to the junkyard
P1 decided to take the metal to a junkyard 30 min away while P3 sat with his leg draped over the metal piece. P5, a junkyard employee, cut open the metal cylinder with a torch and noted he saw yellow smoke which “smelled bad” and saw two metal pieces fall out. P5 picked them up and later reported his hands felt “itchy”. The metal pieces from the cylinder were kept at the junkyard but P7, the junkyard owner, told P1 to take the rest back home where he left them in his vehicle overnight. -
Start to disassemble the unit
On 1 February, P1, P2, P3 and P4 tried to further disassemble the cylindrical metal piece of the teletherapy unit, which was covered by stainless steel. This took place at P1’s residence. P2 and P4 worked for about an hour trying to separate the steel and the lead using a hammer and chisel. Most of this work was done by P2. They were able only to crack the weld seam, whereupon they noticed an oily liquid seep out. -
Patients admitted to the hospital
P1 visited an outpatient clinic where he had blood drawn and upon his return the next day, P1 was admitted to the hospital. His burned hands were swollen and had become darkened. He had nausea, vomiting, and some localized loss of hair. Meanwhile, P5 and P6 had been suffering from diarrhea. P5 felt weak and had a fever. He had lost weight, his hair was falling out and he had burns on his hands. He too went to the hospital and was admitted. -
More symptoms and first fatality
P7 and her husband P8 were both feeling weak, and went to see the doctor. Blood samples taken from P7 and P8 both showed low white blood cell counts. At this time, the physician decided not to have P7 admitted to the hospital, but P8, who had severe nose bleeding, was admitted. During this time, P7 also reportedly mentioned that a stray dog that had often been in the junkyard had died. -
Symptoms continued
P1 had developed a burn on his hands, swollen fingers and an itchy palm. P6 went to the hospital and was admitted. P7 took P9 (a maid to both P7 and P8, as well as a part-time worker at the junkyard) to the hospital for nausea, vomiting and headach, where she was admitted for observation. -
OAEP Contacted
One of the physicians called the OAEP about his patients and expressed concern about a possible unsecured radiation source in the environment. The OAEP immediately dispatched two officers (health physicists) who arrived that same day to investigate further. A radiation level of about 1 mSv/h was measured at the side entrance of the junkyard, confirming the presence of an intense gamma source. The radiation level around the pile of scrap where the source was located found a dose of up to 10 Sv/h. -
Radiation source recovered and contained
By February 20, 2000, the radiation source (estimated to be about 4 cm long and 2.5 cm in diameter) was recovered, placed in a lead container and transported to a secure storage area and the emergency was terminated. Examination showed that the source capsule had not been breached and there was no contamination of the environment.
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