In September 1973, the Science and Technology Bureau of a city in Shanxi applied for cobalt 60co, which is used as a radioactive source in crop breeding experiments. Cobalt 60co is a radioactive metal element, which can be an angel when used properly, and a devil when used improperly, bringing about horrible disasters.
The application report was sent to the Electro-Optical Research Institute of the Ministry of Second Machine. After review, six cobalt 60co safe sent to the City Bureau of Science and Technology, placed in the radiation laboratory, mainly for crop testing. Later, the Science and Technology Bureau was renamed as the Science and Technology Commission (STC) and moved to another location in 1980. At that time, the Science and Technology Commission moved everything that could be moved, but there was a group of experimental equipment that was left to be managed by the Environmental Monitoring Station due to the constraints of the new office. This batch of equipment and laboratories left behind contains the dangerous irradiation room.
The transfer of cobalt 60co set the stage for disaster.
In 1992, the Environmental Monitoring Station planned to tear down the old building and re-expand the office space. The Science and Technology Commission was also to be involved to ensure the safe transfer of radioactive materials. In order to ensure that this work is carried out smoothly, to ensure the safe transfer of these radioactive materials, the Science and Technology Commission specially hired two staff from the China Institute of Radiation Protection to come to assist. Their main task is just one, is to cobalt 60co as radioactive waste to the province's specialized warehouse for storage, so as to avoid the occurrence of security incidents.
In June of that year, the two experts from outside the country, along with three local experts from Shanxi, met to study the transfer program, and on June 25, the transfer began. We divided the labor, local experts He is responsible for supervision, provide location. The local expert, Mr. He, was responsible for supervising and providing the location, while the expert invited from abroad was responsible for dismantling the Cobalt 60co, i.e., for the main technical operation. The remaining two local experts took the cobalt 60co out of the stainless steel drums and transferred it to another specialized lead tank. The question is, given such a detailed division of labor, why did the transfer of this radioactive cobalt 60co cause a subsequent serious accident?
It turned out to be a small detail. When the experts were dismantling the cobalt 60co, Mr. He of the local Science and Technology Commission told the experts that there were only four cobalt 60co's down there, and as I said before, there were six cobalt 60co's down there in the underground Russian well room. The two experts went down to the well in their radiation protection suits and took out the four cobalt 60co directly from the well house, but they also found a lead plug, which the experts suspected might be dangerous, and so they put it into the lead tank in the meantime. In other words, only 5 cobalt 60co's were processed by the experts, and one cobalt 60co was at the bottom of the well. 6 cobalt 60co's were found, one from France, and the other 5 from the former Soviet Union. Thus, the remaining one cobalt 60co was left in the well of KSC.
On July 4, the dismantling of the cobalt 60co was completed. The key to the original cobalt 60co room was handed over to the Environmental Monitoring Station by Mr. He of the Science and Technology Commission, who thought that the work had been completed.
The accident occurred.
Cobalt 60co has been successfully transferred, the environmental monitoring station that this place can be safely expanded. But what no one expected at that time was that there was a "devil" underground, and a mega security incident was ready to break out. In September of that year, a team of engineers entered the site and work on the extension began. The first step was to demolish the old buildings first. When the demolition experts came with their explosives, they had been warned that the place had been tested for radiation before and that it would be better to check it. So the construction team went in and checked it, but being unprofessional, they just casually looked at it and installed the explosives. With a blast, the old building of the former Science and Technology Commission was razed to the ground.
Because of the project needs, so asked a lot of local villagers to participate in the foundation cleanup. 11 months, a masonry worker named Zhang Youchang came out. On this day, he woke up early and rushed to the construction site to start working. Zhang Youchang is an ordinary laborer who has been married for less than a year. His wife is called Zhang Fang, 20 years old, five months pregnant, in a factory as a car stopper. Although life is not rich, but the family lived a very happy, full of hope for the future. But they did not expect a tragedy from the ground.
After arriving at the site, Zhang Youchang warmly greeted other workers from the same village, and then began a busy day. In the morning, a worker named Zhang Maohong down the well digging foundation, inadvertently dug up a metal object, bright and shiny, only a few centimeters long, it seems to be of no use, directly threw this metal object out of the well. At this time he did not even know, this is not ordinary metal objects, but cobalt 60co. construction in the well side of Zhang Youchang, saw this thing thrown up from the well, looking quite funny, by hand, it will be put into their pockets, at that time also thought to pick up what the treasure.
Cobalt 60co brings harm.
Cobalt 60co is a radioactive metal, and the piece of cobalt 60co that was put in Zhang Youchang's pocket was like a demon, ready to start hurting people. Not yet noon, Zhang Youchang began to vomit and diarrhea, stomach pain, he rolled on the ground, very difficult. In the afternoon, he told his family that he still had stomach pain and was upset. So rushed to the hospital, after examination, the doctor could not find the cause, so let Zhang Youchang stay in the hospital for observation.
As his wife is already 5 months pregnant, Zhang Youchang's second brother to take care of him. At this point, lying in the hospital bed, Zhang Youchang's face showed obvious purple, but the doctor still could not find the problem. Then, Zhang Youchang's second brother, who was taking care of him, also said that he had stomach pains, frequent vomiting, a rapid heartbeat, and some of his skin had turned purple. At first glance, doctors suspected that they were suffering from an infectious disease, so they rushed to isolate them. However, the brothers were monitored for three consecutive days, but no symptoms of an infectious disease were found. Eventually contacted their families and advised to rush to the provincial hospital.
Then, Zhang Youchang's father and father-in-law came, carrying the Zhang brothers, rushed to the provincial hospital for treatment. After arriving at the hospital, another series of checks, but did not find out the cause of the disease. Father-in-law inadvertently in the finishing clothes, suddenly heard the metal fall to the ground, think this is the child's things, hurriedly picked up, and then into the clothes. In the end, in the provincial hospital also could not find the cause of the disease, the two parents had to let the brothers go home first.
The tragedy occurred.
From Zhang Youchang picked up the cobalt 60co began, 14 days, he left this world. Soon after, the second brother, who was taking care of Zhang Youchang in the hospital at that time, also died tragically in pain. But the tragedy didn't end there. At this time, Zhang Youchang's father and wife also appeared the same symptoms, I do not know what is going on?
In order to find out the cause, father-in-law decided to take Zhang Fang to the clinic. An ordinary family stumbles upon a mysterious disease, and everyone is at risk. On the way to Beijing, Zhang Fang's condition begins to deteriorate, and when she enters the emergency department of Beijing People's Hospital, she is close to exhaustion. But news like this gets out, and the cause has yet to be found, but the village of Nanguan in Xinzhou has been thrust into the limelight by public opinion. The village and town, which was originally very lively, quickly cooled down. The Zhang family father and son were exposed to cobalt 60co and eventually met with misfortune.
On the Beijing side, the country's top experts gathered here, and they came to the pregnant Zhang Fang to consult with her. Some experts also brought professional equipment to check her. After research and analysis, it was finally deduced that Zhang Fang may have encountered excessive ionizing radiation exposure, but also deduced that the Zhang family father and son died because of this reason. Because of the special circumstances, after finding out the cause of the disease, the hospital immediately reported, the relevant national leaders asked to find the radioactive source as soon as possible.
Finding the radioactive source.
After receiving the central command, a large team of experts rushed to Xinzhou and Taiyuan to choose that lost cobalt 60co, but looked for six times, did not find out where the cobalt 60co went. At the critical time, a doctor from a hospital in Shanxi provided an important clue, saying that when Zhang Youchang was examined at the time, he saw a bright shiny metal object in his pocket, like a cylinder almost. At that time, the patient was asked, do you still want this thing, Zhang Youchang eventually shook his head, said no. The experts heard, this thing is very likely to be cobalt 60co. so the investigation of medical waste, but spent a lot of manpower and resources, never found cobalt 60co. later someone found the hospital cleaner Zhai Moumou, after doing some ideological work, the team of experts found the cobalt 60co in the side of the road. later, the cobalt 60co was loaded into the lead canisters, and the crisis was finally lifted.
As for why the cobalt 60co was dumped on the side of the road, Zhai Moumou said he did not want to go to the garbage disposal station, so he just found a random side of the road and dumped the garbage. And cobalt 60co is located in the location, just the tourist attractions, if you come late, the consequences are unimaginable. After the investigation, this cobalt 60co in Zhang Youchang's pocket a **** stayed for 8 days. July 30, 1994, Xinzhou radiation accident follow-up investigation was finally concluded, resulting in three deaths, before and after 141 people were injured. Six people were prosecuted, and that He was severely punished by the law for dereliction of duty.