We all want to be successful people and earn as much as possible. However, not everyone is destined to have millions. Many work hard day in and day out to achieve something in life, while others are just waiting to steal something and do an easy business. However, the consequences of the activities of such thieves and marauders can be unpredictable, and sometimes even lead to a radiation catastrophe. This is the story that I will briefly tell you today.
1985 year. Brazil, city of Goiânia. The private medical clinic, which had equipment with ionizing radiation (a kind of X-ray machines using natural sources that are under strict control), moved to another area.
During the move, a conflict arose between the founder of the clinic and the owner of the old premises, which reached a trial. Therefore, for the duration of the investigation, it was forbidden to remove the remaining equipment from the territory of the former clinic, among which there was a gamma radiation therapy device.
This device was very expensive, and inside it was a capsule with a radioactive isotope of cesium-137 in the form of cesium chloride. As you yourself understand, this substance was extremely dangerous for the human body …
So, on an autumn night in 1987, two malefactors named Alves and Pereire entered the territory of an empty facility in search of profit. The most valuable, in their opinion, turned out to be a device with a shiny steel capsule, part of which they stole.
Arriving home to Alves, the men began to disassemble the find. Soon, both fools became ill. Pereira developed a burn on his arm and started vomiting. He, not understanding what was happening to him, went to the doctor in the morning. The therapist decided that the man had a food allergic reaction that did not require hospitalization.
Meanwhile, Alves continued what he had begun. He poked a hole in the capsule with a screwdriver and got to the cesium. For 6 days, the radiation substance was in his house, until he suspected something was wrong. In any case, something made him take the stolen goods to the nearest landfill.
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The owner of the Ferreira dump noticed a strange glowing powder … It is not known exactly how the powder got into his hands, perhaps Alves sold it, or perhaps the man accidentally discovered the capsule. But the landfill owner was very pleased with the purchase. He took the miracle powder home to demonstrate to his family.
For 3 days, a huge number of guests visited Ferrer's house. His wife, children, neighbors and friends were delighted with the light emitting capsule. Some of them willingly touched it, took a pinch of the powder with them, while others even applied it to the skin.
Ferrera's wife Gabriela was the first to feel the signs of poisoning. She went to the hospital. The doctors suggested that she was allergic to something, as in the case of Pereira … Soon, most of those who visited their house these days began to complain of feeling unwell.
Meanwhile, the owner of the landfill took the remains of the device to another landfill. Gabriela realized that all the misfortunes from this miracle powder. She went to the landfill, took the unfortunate find and took it to the hospital, where she stated that she was killing people.
At first, the doctors did not take the woman's words seriously, leaving the object she brought in the backyard of the hospital. But after the mass appeal of people with similar symptoms, they finally turned to the local authorities for help.
As a result, about 250 people were injured: 20 of them began to develop radiation sickness, 4 people died, including Gabriela.
The thieves, who started it all, lost their hands, but survived. What happened to them next is unknown. The owner of the landfill survived, but became addicted to alcohol, which killed him.
This is what such rash actions and the desire to get rich can lead to. However, the consequences could be much more catastrophic, although the death of 4 people and damage to the health of more than 200 people is already a disaster …
