Radioactive Iridium Lost in Mexico
California Entry Points on Alert

July 27, 2002

SAN DIEGO — A small pellet of radioactive material disappeared just south of California's border with Mexico, prompting the U.S. Customs Service to put its inspectors on alert.

Mexican authorities confirmed Friday that an inch-long capsule of iridium-192 disappeared from a truck in Mexico earlier this week. It was unclear whether the equipment was stolen or fell off the truck.

As a precaution, the Customs Service notified agents at five border crossings in California, spokesman Vince Bond said. He said radiation detectors at ports of entry had not reported any large radiation readings.

"There's no indication that there's any reason for concern whatsoever," said San Diego police spokesman David Cohen.

Although not harmful if used properly, there has been concern that iridium and other commonplace radioactive materials could be used to create a radiological "dirty bomb."

Mexico's state civil protection director, Gabriel Gomez Ruiz, said that the capsule should not pose any danger to the public. The material is enclosed in a secure fireproof container designed to withstand heavy blows, he said.

"This container is very difficult to open because of the security measures that have been taken with it," he said.

Officials from the Mexican state of Baja California launched an effort to recover the 8-inch by 6-inch cylinder containing the capsule of iridium-192, which was used by Pemex, Mexico's state-owned oil company, to X-ray its pipelines.

Iridium-192 emits potentially hazardous gamma rays commonly used to check welded joints in structures such as oil pipelines. The capsule was lost from a truck between the Mexican border cities of Tijuana and Tecate, about 70 miles east of San Diego, Ruiz said.

"We have no indication that this is headed for the border to be smuggled across," said Lauren Mack, a spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002-07-27-iridium-mexico_x.htm