One of the biggest accidents with the isotope Cesium-137 began on September 13, 1987, in Goiania, Goiás. The disaster claimed hundreds of victims, all contaminated through radiation emitted by a single capsule that contained cesium-137.
How it all began?
The curious instinct of two garbage collectors and the lack of information were factors that gave space to what happened. When searching the former facilities of the Goiano Radiotherapy Institute, in the center of Goiânia, these men came across with an abandoned radiotherapy device and had the unfortunate idea of removing the machine with the help of a cart. hand. They took the equipment to one of their homes.
The collectors' greatest interest was the profit that would be made from the sale of the metal and lead parts of the apparatus to the city's scrapyards. Lay people on the subject, they had no idea what that machine was and what was really inside it. After removing the pieces of interest, which took about five days, they sold what was left to the owner of a junkyard.
The owner of the establishment was Devair Alves Ferreira, which, when disassembling the machine, exposed 19.26 g of cesium-137 chloride (CsCl) to the environment, a white powder similar to table salt that, in the dark, glows blue.
He was enchanted by the blue glow emitted by the substance and decided to show the find to his family, friends and part of the neighborhood. Everyone believed they were facing something supernatural and some even took samples home. The display of the fluorescent powder took place for four days, and the risk area increased, as part of the radiotherapy equipment also went to another junkyard, further spreading the material radioactive.
Symbol used to indicate the presence of radioactive material
Consequences
A few hours after contact with the substance, victims appeared with the first symptoms of contamination (vomiting, nausea, diarrhea and dizziness). A large number of people went to hospitals and pharmacies complaining of the same symptoms. As no one imagined what was happening, these patients were medicated as carriers of a contagious disease. Days passed until the possibility was discovered that it was symptoms of an Acute Radiation Syndrome.
Only on September 29, 1987, after the junkyard owner's wife took part of the machine from radiotherapy to the Sanitary Surveillance headquarters, it was possible to identify the symptoms as being in radioactive contamination.
The doctors who received the equipment requested the presence of a nuclear physicist to assess the accident. It was then that physicist Valter Mendes, from Goiânia, found that there were radiation rates on Rua 57, in the Airport Sector, as well as in its surroundings. Faced with such evidence and the danger they represented, he immediately called the National Nuclear Commission (CNEN).
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The incident was informed to the head of the Department of Nuclear Installations, José Júlio Rosenthal, who went on the same day to Goiânia. The following day, the team was reinforced by the presence of physician Alexandre Rodrigues de Oliveira, from Nuclebrás (currently, Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil) and physician Carlos Brandão from CNEN. At that time, the State Department of Health began to screen people suspected of contamination in a football stadium in the capital.
Measures taken for decontamination
The first measure taken was to separate all clothes from people exposed to radioactive material and wash them with soap and water for external decontamination. After this procedure, people took a chelator called “Prussian blue”. This substance eliminates the effects of radiation, causing cesium particles to leave the body through urine and feces.
However, this was not enough to prevent some patients from dying. Among the fatal victims, we can mention the girl Leide das Neves, his father Ivo, Devair and his wife, Maria Gabriela, and two employees of the junkyard. Later, more people died from contamination with radioactive material, including employees who carried out the cleaning of the site.
The work of decontaminating the affected places was not easy. The removal of all material contaminated with cesium-137 yielded about 6000 tons of garbage (clothes, utensils, construction materials, etc.). Such radioactive waste is confined to 1,200 boxes, 2,900 drums and 14 containers (coated with concrete and steel) in a warehouse built in the city of Abadia de Goiás, where it should stay for approximately 600 years old.
Punishments for the guilty and assistance to victims
In 1996, the court judged and convicted three partners and employees of manslaughter (when there is no intention to kill) from the former Goiano Radiotherapy Institute to three years and two months in prison, which was replaced by the provision of services.
Currently, victims complain about the government's failure to provide both medical and drug assistance. To try to resolve the situation, they founded the association of Victims Contaminated by Cesio-137 and fight against the prejudice that still exists.
The Cesium-137 accident was the biggest radioactive accident in Brazil and the biggest in the world that occurred outside nuclear power plants.
By Líria Alves
Graduated in Chemistry
