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Radiotherapy Clinic Relocates
- Instituto Goiano de Radioterapia clinic relocates
- Cobalt- 60 unit was relocated
- Cesium- 137 unit was left because no one knew who had true ownership of the unit
- Premises were partially demolished causing the radiotherapy department to be unsecured
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Radioactive Capsule Discovered
- Two men came across the abandoned clinic looking for scrap metal to sell
- Dismantled the Cesium- 137 unit and took the capsule home because of the stainless steel value
- Initial onset of N/V
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Radioactive Capsule Disassembled
- Individual #1 broke the iridium window of the capsule and blue light was emitted
- A powder (later determined to be Cesium- Chloride) was found inside the capsule and some was removed by Individual #1
- Later determined that Individual #1's entire house was contaminated and eventually demolished
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Transfer of Owners
- Individual #1 sold the remaining metal to a scrapyard
- Devair Ferreira, owner of the scrapyard, noticed the blue emitted light and took the capsule home thinking the powder was a valuable stone
- Bringing the capsule home, Ferreira subsequently exposed his wife
- It was later determined that by bringing the capsule into their home, Devair had an exposure dose of 7.0 Gy and his wife, Gabriela, of 5.7 Gy
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Exposure to Cesium Chloride Expands
- News begins to spread about the blue glow that's in the hands of Devair Ferreira
- Over three days, several people come to see for themselves
- Friends and family are given rice sized amounts of cesium chloride to take home as a souvenir
- Reports of illness arise, most notably by Gabriela Ferreira, unknown at the time to be ARS
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Exposure to 3 of 4 Future Deaths
- Two employees of the scrapyard become exposed to the radiation trying to break the capsule into smaller pieces
- Devair Ferreira gave some cesium chloride to his brother to take home
- Ferreira's extended family was exposed through the gift and the family handled it while eating dinner, including his 6 YO daughter Leide Ferreira
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Gabriela Ferreira Raised Concerns
- Gabriela continued to have symptoms of ARS: N/V, diarrhea, GI problems
- Connected the dates of illness to the date of initial exposure
- Concerned about the capsule, she took it to a Brazilian health agency, Vigilancia Sanitaria, and said it was "killing her family"
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Quarantine and Care Plans Established
- Cesium chloride from the capsule was now the confirmed source of radiation
- A stadium was converted to quarantine the exposed
- 112,000 were monitored
- 249 were contaminated
- 20 required immediate treatment: 14 transported to a hospital in Rio de Janeiro, 6 cared for in Goiania
- 46 treated with Prussian Blue (traps radioactive cesium and prevents it from being further absorbed)
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Medical Physicist Contacted
- A physician at a local hospital evaluated Gabriela Ferreira and noticed similar symptoms from other patients
- A medical physicist was contacted and immediately came to evaluate the capsule
- A high dose of radiation was detected at Vigilancia Sanitaria and the building was immediately evacuated
- The source was traced back to the Ferreira family and they were required to evacuate due to the high levels of radiation
- Exposure now confirmed in many
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Clean Up Plans Begin
- Vigilancia Sanitaria, the Brazilian Health Authority where the capsule was located, had their courtyard filled with cement
- Radiation significantly declined at Vigilancia Sanitaria
- Locations of hot spots were officially identified and blocked off to allow for demolition and clean up
- Clean up teams were formed to plan how to safely and efficiently get rid of the radiation
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Four Confirmed Deaths
- Gabriela Ferreira, 38 YO: 5.7 Gy, 10- 23- 1987
- Leide Ferreira, 6 YO: 6.0 Gy, 10- 23- 1987
- Scrap Worker #1, 22 YO male: Unreported dose, 10- 27, 1987
- Scrap Worker #2, 18 YO male: Unreported dose, 10- 28- 1987
- All succumbed to primary complications of hemorrhaging and infection
- All had severe heart and lung hemorrhaging
- ARS Sx included: desquamation, radiation burns, GI hemorrhaging, cardiovascular complications