5 hospitalized due to radioactive cobalt exposure

[Dave Derenzo <dave@uic.edu>]

The Associated Press BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Five people have been 
hospitalized for exposure to radiation that leaked from scrap metal sold to 
a recycling yard on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thai newspapers reported 
Sunday.Two workers who handled the metal cylinder were in a coma, and the 
man who sold it suffered radiation burns to his hands, the Bangkok Post 
said.The owner of the scrap yard in Samut Prakan province and another 
worker were also hospitalized, the newspaper said.The Thai Health Ministry 
reported Saturday that three scrap yard workers had fallen critically ill 
with blisters, burns and hair loss. They were vulnerable to infections 
because of a drop in their white blood cell count,the ministry said.Ten 
more neighbors and relatives of the victims who took blood tests were 
discharged from the hospital because they showed only very slight exposure 
to radiation, the Post reported.Staff from Thailand's small atomic energy 
research center, who had Geiger counters but no protective clothing, sifted 
through piles of scrap at the yard Saturday searching for the source of the 
leak, the Bangkok Post
said.After 11 hours they found a metal cylinder containing cobalt 60, a 
radioactive isotope used in the production of gamma rays, mainly used in 
sterilization by the food industry, or in hospitals for cancer treatment, 
The Nation reported.The Nation said the case was the first ever radioactive 
leak in Thailand.AP-NY-02-20-00 0759EST


Dave Derenzo (dave@uic.edu)
UIC Radiation Safety Section, M/C 932
Phones: Voice (312) 996-1177  Fax: (312) 996-8776

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