Radioactive Prohibited Items: Silent and Deadly Threats

Radioactive Prohibited Items: Silent and Deadly Threats​

Radioactive materials are extremely dangerous prohibited items that pose silent yet deadly threats. Radioactive substances such as uranium, radium, and cobalt continuously emit ionizing radiation. During transportation, once radioactive materials leak, people around may suffer from various diseases such as leukemia and cancer even without direct contact. In severe cases, it can lead to acute radiation sickness and even death in a short period. Moreover, radioactive contamination is long – term and difficult to eliminate. Contaminated areas may be unusable for decades or even centuries. In 1987, the radioactive material leakage accident in Goiânia, Brazil, exposed more than 250 people to radiation, resulting in 4 deaths and the contamination of more than 1,000 houses, plunging the entire city into panic. This tragedy warns us that once the transportation of radioactive prohibited items gets out of control, the consequences will be catastrophic. For public safety and environmental health, any unauthorized transportation of radioactive materials must be severely prohibited.