Missing radioactive material found in Mexico, public not at risk

Authorities in Mexico have located the radioactive material that was stolen last month.

The country’s interior ministry announced the missing iridium-192 was discovered Tuesday afternoon in its container on a road in Acambay, some 87 miles northwest of Mexico City.

Because the material, which is used in industrial radiography, had not been removed from its protective container, the ministry said it posed no danger to public health.

After the iridium-192 was first reported stolen on February 27, the ministry warned the material “represents a major health risk” if it were to be removed from its container, adding anyone exposed to the material could have received “permanent or serious injury” in minutes or hours.

The ministry had said the material was being transported by a pickup truck, which was stolen in San Juan Del Rio. That’s about 37 miles north of where the container was ultimately discovered.

The vehicle was also located, the ministry said Tuesday.

Authorities placed six districts on notice after the disappearance, but have now lifted the alert.

The theft was at least the fourth time in the last four years that radioactive material went missing in Mexico, according to past news releases. Other thefts occurred in April 2015, July 2014 and December 2013, though the material was also recovered in all three prior instances.

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