Real story: 'The poor farmer and the deadly treasure'

  • Thread starter Thread starter mohd_adam
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a real incident involving a farmer in Egypt who and his family suffered health issues due to exposure to a radioactive source, specifically Iridium-192. The conversation touches on the implications of the incident, the responsibilities of the gas company, and the availability of information regarding the event.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Debate/contested, Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses concern about the gas company's potential liability for corporate manslaughter due to their negligence in reporting the lost gamma camera.
  • Another participant requests a reference to verify the details of the story, indicating a desire for factual accuracy.
  • A participant provides a link to a newspaper article that briefly mentions the incident but notes a lack of detailed information available online regarding the radioactive source.
  • Another participant mentions finding information about the incident on the International Atomic Energy Agency's website, suggesting that further details can be located there.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying degrees of concern regarding the gas company's actions and the incident's implications, but there is no consensus on the company's culpability or the availability of comprehensive information about the event.

Contextual Notes

Participants note limitations in available information and the need for verification of the incident's details, highlighting the reliance on external sources for understanding the event.

mohd_adam
The poor farmer and the deadly treasure

This real story happened in one of the countries in year 2000 ( Egypt ). A farmer and his family which consists of 7 persons went to the hospital, the all complain from inflammation in the hands, and pimples in the fingers. In the beginning, the doctors thought that this family afflicted with the sickness ' anthrax', but after the accurate examination / checkup, the doctors discovered that the reason in these symptoms is exposure to the radioactive source.

The doctors asked the farmer, did he and his family deal with radioactive materials, of course the poor farmer didn't understand the question, because he don't know what is the radioactive materials. After that, the radioactive experts went to the house of the farmer, the astounding surprise was that the radiation detectors showed that the radiation level in the farmer house is very high.

After an accurate searching, the experts found radioactive source placed in handkerchief , and it is hidden below the bed. The radioactive source was Iridium-192 which decays by emitting beta particles and gamma radiation. The radioactive source was look like spiral pin, 18 cm length and 5 mm diameter.

The radioactive source was part of the gamma camera which used in examination the welding in the gas pipes. One of the technicians in the gas company used gamma camera for examination the welding in the gas pipe which near from the field of that poor farmer, the technician lost the camera in the field of that poor farmer, but the gas company feared to report the police because the company didn't follow rules of using the radioactive sources.

The poor farmer found the gamma camera and he thought that the radioactive source is a valuable metal, the farmer thought that he found treasure, he put the radioactive source in handkerchief , and he hide the handkerchief below the bed. In the end, this poor farmer and 2 of his children died while the rest of the family afflicted with dangerous sickness
 
Biology news on Phys.org
Welcome to PF!

Hi mohd_adam! Welcome to PF! :smile:
mohd_adam said:
… the technician lost the camera in the field of that poor farmer, but the gas company feared to report the police because the company didn't follow rules of using the radioactive sources.

I hope the gas company was prosecuted for corporate manslaughter. :frown:
 
Thanks tiny-tim
 
Can you provide a reference? I'd be interested in verifying details of this story.
 
Only i found a website wrote (shortly ) about this accident ,
http://www.ahram.org.eg/Archive/2000/7/5/INVE3.HTM
this is the website of the most famous newspaper in Egypt , of course you can use Google to translate into English...

about the details of the radioactive source , i didn't find any website wrote the details.
 
I found some information about this accident on the website of The International Atomic Energy Agency...

http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Magazines/Bulletin/Bull434/article8.pdf

search about the word "Egyptian' , the information in page 6
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Similar threads

  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
Replies
3
Views
4K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
4K
  • · Replies 80 ·
3
Replies
80
Views
69K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
10K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
4K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
4K