Inadvertant Cobalt 60 hijacking

[RA1]

At first I thought the broadcast suggesting that whoever opened the containers of cobalt 60 was in extreme danger was warning them to cease being in contact with it without its' container. However, later news seems to simply affirm that if they were in contact with it for very long they are walking dead. I do not think there is any treatment for over exposure to radiation. Perhaps a very strong pain killer?

I am trying to evaluate what the point of this news story is. The cobalt was abandoned and is being "safely" recovered and will eventually be disposed. Therefore the criminals apparently really wanted the vehicle and only opened the containers to make sure there was not some "treasure" enclosed. Yes, there was; deadly treasure which will surely kill them.

I have to suppose one point is simply the propagation of "news" and another is to warn criminals to be wary of what they steal. Sorry to say, both very nebulous concepts. Criminals will not be stopped and "news" is overwhelmingly available or so it seems.

Best regards,

RA1

[AdamSmith]

Agree that when I read this story on cnn.com, it seemed to peter out without deciding what point it wanted to make.

Did remind me of a scene in some story I can't recall now of 2 thieves stealing a vial of some powder they thought to be drugs, one of them inhaling it, and it turning out to be something radioactive. He came to a Bad End needless to say.

[RA1]

I hate bad ends but good ends are wonderful.

Best regards,

RA1

[MsGuy]

Life (or in this case death) imitates art.

This is a spot on variation of the 'dead cat in a package' urban legend, subcategory: 'live wild cat in a box'.

[AdamSmith]

This is a spot on variation of the 'dead cat in a package' urban legend, subcategory: 'live wild cat in a box'.

I think you just formulated the Copenhagen Interpretation thereof!

[Guest Hoover42]

In the states, the NRC and DOT jointly require transported radioactive material to be enclosed in very heavily shielded containers strong enough to survive any likely accident on the road. In addition, the transporting vehicle has to be well marked to indicate the presence of a significant hazard.

Guess Mexico has somewhat less stringent requirements.

[JKane]

Yeah, this seems like the ultimate Darwin award! There had to be radiation hazard symbols all over it, if you've managed to never learn what they mean, as an adult, in a western country... well you probably didn't have anything to contribute...

[AdamSmith]

Update: http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/06/world/americas/mexico-radioactive-theft/index.html?c=homepage-t&page=1