Laurence Dollimore
A RADIOACTIVE package containing ‘very dangerous’ sources of selenium became lost at Madrid airport this week, it has emerged.
An alert was issued by the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) on Monday after the shipment disappeared from the cargo terminal of the Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport.
The package, which has since been located, contained four radioactive sources of selenium (se-75).
Selenium 75 is a radioactive isotope that has applications in the field of industrial radiography.
According to the Nuclear Safety Council, the radioactive sources were category 2 on a scale of 1 to 5 established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with 5 being the least dangerous.
Category 2 sources are ‘very dangerous’ because their radioactive levels can cause serious illness if people are exposed to them.
Fortunately, the selenium in Madrid remained in its special protective casings until it was recovered.
Short-term exposure to high concentrations of selenium can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, while long-term exposure can cause a disease called selenosis.
The main signs and symptoms of selenosis are hair loss, brittle nails and neurological abnormalities (for example, numbness and other strange sensations in the extremities).
Short-term exposure to high levels of elemental selenium or selenium dioxide in the air can cause respiratory tract irritation, bronchitis, shortness of breath and stomach pain.
Longer exposure to either of these forms in the air can cause respiratory tract irritation, bronchial spasms and coughing.
