Mexico Thieves Make Off With Radioactive Radioactive X-Ray Material

MEXICO CITY, April 16 (Reuters) - Radioactive industrial x-ray material has been stolen in Mexico's eastern coastal state of Tabasco, Mexican authorities said, the latest in a string of such thefts.

The material, Iridium-192 was reported stolen on Monday from a pickup truck in Cardenas, Tabasco, authorities said in a statement late on Wednesday. Used for mobile industrial x-rays, the substance would be dangerous if removed from its container, authorities said.

A load of the same material was stolen in a pickup truck in an industrial Mexico City suburb last July.

Thieves in December 2013 also made off with a truck containing Cobalt-60, a radioactive medical material that the United Nations' nuclear agency said could provide an ingredient for a "dirty bomb." That radioactive load was also found dumped by the thieves close to where it was stolen. (Reporting by Anahi Rama and Alexandra Alper Editing by W Simon)

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.