We have all witnessed or heard all the conspiracy theories about the drug cartels doing this or that…..and we know that DHS is always concerned about the possibility of a dirty bomb being set off in one of this country’s larger cities…..
There is a concern that Russia might be the spot where bad guys could con or bribe someone into getting a sufficient amount of radioactive material to build that dreaded bomb…there is always stories maybe it is an urban legend that there is a sizable amount of radioactive material missing from the US stockpiles…….which ever one of these that you might subscribe to there is other possibilities for the bad guys to acquire the proper amount of radioactive material to build that bomb that we all know is only a matter of time before it happens……and this story is one good possibility……
Newser) – A truck laden with “dangerous” radioactive material used to fight cancer was stolen on Monday near Mexico City, says the International Atomic Energy Agency, per the BBC. “At the time the truck was stolen, the source was properly shielded. However, the source could be extremely dangerous to a person if removed from the shielding, or if it was damaged,” the UN agency says. The truck was carrying cobalt-60, which the IAEA director has warned could be used in a dirty bomb.
The white Volkswagen Worker was ferrying the cobalt-60 between a Tijuana hospital and a radioactive waste storage site when armed men stole it; the theft occurred at a gas station in Tepojaco. Mexican and US officials are on the case, ABC News reports, and the IAEA is offering help. A dirty bomb would cause fewer fatalities than a nuclear bomb, but it could prompt “mass panic, as well as serious economic and environmental consequences.” The IAEA gets more than 100 reports per year regarding similar thefts or illegal use of nuclear and radioactive material, Reuters notes.
A scary thought I know….but let’s be realistic…..it is only a matter of time until some derange douche bag gets his hands on enough material to make that dirty bomb and puts it into play…..
Some thoughts?
On the other hand, the thieves’ close contact to the material may reveal their whereabouts later. If anyone sees someone walking around, probably males, with a radiant glow, especially at night time, call the policia.
Larry, an update…they found the truck and the stuff but it had been opened so someone out there has a glow about them and does not need a night lite….
Someone’s never going to have children
here is the update….
(Newser) – Police in Mexico have recovered a container of radioactive material that may have been stolen inadvertently by two thieves who hijacked a truck, reports the AP. Authorities found the abandoned truck in rural central Mexico and the container of cobalt-60 about a half-mile away. It had been opened, and police can’t say for sure whether any had been taken, reports CNN. But if their theory is correct that two men stole the truck without having a clue about its cargo, the thieves might be in for some serious health problems if they opened the container without proper protection.
“This is a radioactive source that is very strong,” says a nuclear safety official in Mexico. The cobalt had been used in medical equipment, and it was being shipped to a nuclear waste site in the state of Mexico, near Mexico City, when the truck was stolen. Because cobalt is an ingredient in so-called dirty bombs, the US Department of Homeland Security is assisting in the investigation.