Why Is This Cargo Container Emitting So Much Radiation?

Screening thousands of cargo containers that arrive daily in any global port is nonstop work. Sealed containers can have false walls and doors or removable hinges to carry illegal drugs, immigrants or difficult-to-detect nuclear weapons. In Italy, inspectors routinely check containers carrying scrap metal, efficiently gathered into groups, for radiation. A maximum radiation reading, a million times normal background levels, was reported from Genoa in July 2010. Andrew Curry describes the investigation into the worst radiologic incident in Italian history and the cargo container industry in general for Wired. A consultant, risking his health, identified and separated the container that had already waited in port for a week. A code revealed that the container, destined for an Italian foundry, belonged to a Bermuda-based firm. Leased to a Geneva firm, it was packed in Saudi Arabia by a UAE dealer. Robots removed a pencil-sized sliver of cobalt-60, likely from an improperly discarded medical device, but only after dozens of people were exposed. – YaleGlobal