Companion piece · 2026-10-22
By Morgan Miller
On September 13, 1987, two men entered an abandoned medical clinic in Goiânia, Brazil, searching for equipment they could sell as scrap.
They removed part of a radiotherapy machine and transported it home in a wheelbarrow.
Inside was a sealed source containing approximately 93 grams of radioactive caesium chloride.
Over the following weeks, that material would contaminate hundreds of people, require the demolition of several houses, and cause four deaths.
There was no nuclear reactor involved.
The equipment had originally been used to treat cancer.
A Medical Device Left Behind
The Instituto Goiano de Radioterapia was a private cancer-treatment facility in Goiânia, the capital of Goiás state.
Its equipment included a teletherapy machine containing caesium-137. The isotope emits penetrating gamma radiation, which can be used to destroy cancer cells when carefully controlled.
In late 1985, the institute relocated. A cobalt-60 treatment machine was transferred to the new premises, but the caesium-137 unit remained behind.
The relevant licensing authority was not properly notified.
The former clinic was subsequently partly demolished, leaving the machine accessible in an unsecured building.
By September 1987, its radioactive source had an activity of approximately 50.9 terabecquerels, or 1,375 curies.
Caesium-137 has a half-life of approximately 30 years. The material inside the machine was therefore still highly radioactive.
September 13–18: The Equipment Is Opened
The two men were Roberto dos Santos Alves and Wagner Mota Pereira.
Between September 10 and 13, they dismantled part of the machine and removed its rotating source assembly.
Both men experienced vomiting by September 13. Pereira subsequently developed diarrhoea, dizziness, and swelling in one hand.
On September 15, medical personnel attributed his symptoms to a possible allergic reaction associated with food.
Meanwhile, Alves continued dismantling the equipment at his home.
During the process, he punctured the thin metal window of the radioactive capsule with a screwdriver. Some of the caesium chloride escaped.
The International Atomic Energy Agency's investigation records that Alves initially considered the material might be gunpowder and attempted to ignite it.
On September 18, he sold the dismantled components to scrap dealer Devair Alves Ferreira.
September 18–24: The Blue Powder
That evening, Ferreira noticed a blue glow coming from the radioactive material.
He brought the capsule into his home.
Over the following days, relatives, neighbours, and acquaintances were invited to examine it.
On September 21, another individual used a screwdriver to remove small fragments from the capsule. Pieces approximately the size of rice grains were distributed among several people.
Some recipients rubbed the powder onto their skin as decoration.
The material was caesium-137 in the form of caesium chloride, a highly soluble salt.
Once the capsule was breached, radioactive contamination could spread through ordinary contact, clothing, household surfaces, and dust.
It could also enter the body through ingestion or inhalation.
On September 24, Ferreira's brother, Ivo Alves Ferreira, brought some fragments home.
His six-year-old daughter, Leide das Neves Ferreira, handled the material during a meal.
She ingested radioactive particles.
The estimated radiation dose she subsequently received was approximately six grays.
September 28–29: Recognition
By September 28, numerous people associated with the scrapyard were suffering from nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and skin injuries.
Devair's wife, Maria Gabriela Ferreira, suspected that the mysterious material was responsible.
With assistance from a scrapyard employee, she recovered the remaining source components and carried them by public bus to the municipal health surveillance department.
The radioactive material was placed in a bag and presented to medical personnel.
On September 29, physicist Walter Mendes Ferreira obtained a radiation survey instrument and investigated.
The instrument initially registered beyond its measurement range. Ferreira suspected equipment failure and obtained another meter.
The second instrument confirmed exceptionally high radiation levels.
He helped initiate evacuations and informed the authorities.
Brazil's National Nuclear Energy Commission, known as CNEN, was notified that afternoon.
Specialist teams subsequently arrived from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
The source had remained uncontrolled for more than two weeks.
The Medical Response
Goiânia's Olympic Stadium became a temporary screening and assessment centre.
Approximately 112,000 people were monitored. Of these, 249 were identified as having radioactive contamination.
Twenty required hospital treatment.
Fourteen were transferred to the Marcílio Dias Naval Hospital in Rio de Janeiro. Six were treated in Goiânia.
Treatment included skin decontamination, monitoring of internal contamination, management of radiation injuries, and the administration of Prussian blue, a compound used to increase the elimination of caesium from the body.
Severe exposure damaged bone marrow, compromised immune function, and produced extensive tissue injuries.
Despite treatment, four patients died.
On October 23, Maria Gabriela Ferreira, aged 37, and Leide das Neves Ferreira, aged six, died.
Israel Batista dos Santos, a scrapyard employee, died on October 27.
Another employee, Admilson Alves de Souza, died on October 28.
Their deaths resulted from complications associated with acute radiation syndrome.
Devair Alves Ferreira survived, despite receiving a substantial radiation dose.
The Cleanup and Its Consequences
The contamination extended beyond the original scrapyard.
Homes, vehicles, personal possessions, and public locations required inspection.
Seven houses were demolished. Contaminated soil was removed, and some buildings required extensive cleaning.
The cleanup ultimately generated approximately 3,500 cubic metres of radioactive waste.
A permanent disposal facility was established near Abadia de Goiás, approximately 20 kilometres from Goiânia, and inaugurated in 1997.
Social consequences continued after the immediate emergency.
Some survivors experienced discrimination, and fear of contamination produced public hostility.
Protesters attempted to prevent the burial of the first victims, whose remains were transported in lead-lined coffins.
In February 1988, Goiás established the Leide das Neves Ferreira Foundation to coordinate medical and social assistance and study the accident's consequences.
Federal legislation enacted in 1996 provided special pensions for eligible victims.
Accountability and Lessons
The accident also resulted in criminal proceedings against individuals responsible for the radiotherapy institute.
In 1992, four defendants were convicted of negligent homicide. Subsequent appeals modified the sentences and resulted in another conviction.
The case exposed substantial weaknesses in the control of radioactive medical equipment.
The IAEA subsequently emphasized that responsibility for securing a radioactive source continues throughout its operational life, including when equipment becomes obsolete or a facility closes.
International standards concerning the tracking, storage, and disposal of radioactive sources were strengthened in the years following Goiânia.
The central problem was not the existence of caesium-137 in medical treatment. Such sources had legitimate applications when properly contained.
The failure was allowing a dangerous source to become accessible to people who had no reason to recognize it.
The screwdriver opened the capsule.
The absence of effective source control made that possible.
I'm Morgan Miller. Disposal procedures exist for a reason.