Chemical Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism: TICs & TIMs

Chemical Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism
Training Support Package
Participant Guide
Turning to an example of the next potential scenario, the Goiânia Brazil tragedy is
probably the best-known example of surreptitious (though unintentional) dispersal of a
radioactive source in a community, although there have been other cases over the
years.
In 1987, a radiotherapy device was found in an abandoned clinic by a few young men.
They broke it open and found a blue glowing powder, which, unknown to them, was
Cesium-137. These individuals sold it to a junkyard dealer. He broke it fully open and
brought the glowing object into his home, and gave some of the powder to friends and
family. The young daughter of the dealer rubbed some of this glowing powder onto her
face. Once several of them started to get sick, the connection to the source was
suspected, and a large public health response began.
Note that it took nearly 2 weeks from the time of initial Cesium dispersal to discovery of
the cause of illness in the affected individuals.
Luminescence, or “blue glow” from the powder represents the presence of Tschenkov
radiation. This occurs when high energy Beta particles released by the Cesium
temporarily ionize water vapor molecules in the air. Some energy is released as visible
blue light in the process.
Lessons drawn from this accident in Brazil are still helping shape actions on radiation
safety and security decades later. It was the worst accident involving a small radioactive
source that the world has seen.
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