(Reuters) - Thieves in central Mexico on Thursday stole a pick-up truck carrying dangerous radioactive material, authorities said.
The load of Iridium-192 was normally used in industrial radiography, Mexico's interior ministry said in a statement. It was housed in a specialized container and would only pose a health risk if the housing was tampered with, it said.
Experts say a dirty bomb is a more likely threat than a nuclear bomb in a terrorist attack.
However, they say a dirty bomb carries more potential to terrorize than cause a large loss of life.
Nuclear expert Mark Hibbs of the Carnegie Endowment think-tank said Iridium-192, a common medical and industrial isotope with many applications, "in theory" could be used as a radiological weapon.
But, "the perpetrators would have to accumulate enough material to disperse it effectively which may be difficult since in many cases small amounts of Ir-192 are used in sources," he told Reuters in an e-mail. |