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Three Thais critically injured by radioactive cobalt
Three Thais critically injured by radioactive cobalt
BANGKOK, Feb. 19 (Kyodo) - Three Thais were critically injured by
radioactivity emanating from a sample of cobalt-60 they found in a
used article shop, a doctor said Saturday.
Two men and a woman were brought into the intensive care unit of
a hospital in the suburban province Samutprakan, about 30
kilometers south of Bangkok, in serious condition after they broke
stainless cylinders containing the radioactive isotope of cobalt.
''Their white cell level has reduced very rapidly, their skin was burnt
and hair has fallen out,'' Chainarong Somboon, deputy director of
the Samutprakan Hospital, told Kyodo News.
In this condition they are at great risk from infectious diseases.
Two of the three have been transferred to a hospital in Bangkok for
blood treatment, he added.
The three are workers at a used object trading shop in the province
that bought the cylinders from an unnamed man several days ago.
The 15 kilogram, 30 centimeter tall cylinders are suspected to have
come from a medical device known commonly as a ''Cobalt Bomb''
that is used to kill cancerous cells with radiation, said Chainarong.
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Sandy Perle Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100
Director, Technical Extension 2306
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division Fax:(714) 668-3149
ICN Biomedicals, Inc. E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net
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Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/scperle
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