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National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) Created
CNEN is created to develop nuclear energy in Brazil as well as create strong controls over export of radioactive materials -
Instituto Goiano de Radioterapia built
IGR built in Goiania, licensed by CNEN -
Caesium-137 Teletherapy Unit
Unit purchased by Instituto Goiano de Radioterapia -
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Switch from Stratocracy to Democracy
End of 21 year military regime in 1985 and election of a democratic president in Brazil -
Instituto Goiano de Radioterapia
IGR moves to new location, leaves behind a caesium-137 radiation therapy device -
Court Dispute of Abandoned Site
Institute and owner of site go to court to dispute what should happen to site. It's known and stated in court of abandoned radioactive material still on site. -
Prevention of Removal of Radioactive Material
The court uses police force to prevent one of the owners of IGR from removing radioactive material from abandoned site. The court then puts a security guard to protect the site and hazardous material. -
Theft of abandoned Teletherapy unit
Two men hear of valuable equipment left and go into abandoned IGR site and steal the Cesium-137 unit. They take unit by wheelbarrow to one of the men's homes and dismantle it with the intention to sell for scrap. -
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Two men get sick
The two men experience vomiting, diarrhea, and one of them has burns on his hand. One man goes to clinic and is diagnosed with an allergic reaction to bad food. -
Parts Sold to Junkyard
They sell parts of the unit to a junkyard and the junkyard owner, Devair Ferreira, who saw the source capsule glowed blue and thought it might be valuable or supernatural. Takes it home and several people visit and pieces were taken of the glowing blue powder. -
Devair Ferreira's wife gets sick
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6 Year Old Girl is Contaminated
Devair Ferrera's brother Ivo brings some of the powder home where his 6 year old daughter plays with it, puts it on her body and later eats an egg and contaminated the egg with the cesium and ingests it. -
Devair Ferreira sells scrap metal
Devair sells the contaminated scrap metal to another junkyard -
Gabriela Maria Ferreira
Devair Ferreira's wife, Gabriela, notices everyone getting sick after contact with this powder and brings some in a plastic bag to the Tropical Diseases Hospital where people exposed to the radiation were being treated for a possible tropical disease. -
Containment
A medical physicist borrows a scintillation monitor and identifies the powder to be highly radioactive. IGR is contacted to figure out source of radiation. Goiania Olympic stadium is used as a staging area for screening and isolating patients. -
249 People Significantly Contaminated
249 people were found to have significant levels of radioactive contamination. 129 had internal contamination. -
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Clean up
Top soil was removed from several sites, houses were demolished including the junkyard owner's. Many people had to relocate or have portions of their house removed. Prussian Blue was used as an antidote for the people with internal contamination. -
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Four Deaths
Four died as a result of being contaminated: Admilson Alves de Souza (18), an employee at Devair Ferreira's junkyard that helped dismantle the unit. Received 5.3 Gy.
Leide das Neves Ferreira (6), Ivo Ferreira's daughter who ingested the cesium, received 6 Gy.
Gabriela Maria Ferreira (37), Devair Ferreira's wife, received 5.7 Gy
Israel Baptista dos Santos (22), another employee of Devair, received 4.5 Gy