Update on Cobalt 60 Leak in India

The New York Times ran an article yesterday on the incident in India where several scrap yard employees were hospitalized after exposure to Cobalt-60, the radioactive isotope used in radiotherapy and food irradiation. The New York Times reported that the material originated inside a medical machine that was auctioned off by the chemistry department of a nearby university. The machine was, apparently, from 1968, and nobody knew it contained anything toxic. It had been in a basement at the university for many years.

The New York Times also reported that one of the shop workers passed away in the hospital from multiple organ failure due to radiation poisoning.

Here is the full article:

Indian University Is Deemed Source of Radiation Exposure - NEW YORK TIMES

-Grace Claiborn