Radioactive vial discovered in a house: intervention by nuclear safety and people in care in Montpellier

La fiole a été remise à l'IRSN, l'Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire. Illustration MAXPPP – Aurelien Morissard

Le contenant, étiqueté "Radium" a été trouvé par hasard lors du rangement d'un atelier dans maison à Ribérac en Dordogne, le samedi 10 février. Les personnes ont été hospitalisées pour des analyses.

While tidying up the workshop of a house in Ribérac in Dordogne, on Saturday February 10, they came across a vial labeled “radium”.

They then called the emergency services as a precaution. And they did well, it was radioactive radium salts which can be extremely dangerous.

A system put in place

L’ASN, the Nuclear Safety Authority has been informed. The Dordogne firefighters, supported by a team of firefighters specializing in radiological risk from Bordeaux, intervened in the homes of individuals.

Even if the measurements taken in contact with the vial showed only a low flow of radioactivity, the vial was not waterproof.
The specialists then checked whether there had been any contamination beyond the workshop, the room in which the radium was found.

Traces of potential contamination

The investigations made it possible to identify two houses likely to present traces of contamination. After verification, only the ground floor of one of the houses showed traces of radium contamination.

Access to the place has been blocked before its upcoming decontamination by a specialized company.

Identified people

Eleven people have been identified who may have been in contact with the vial or be contaminated. You should know that contamination can be internal after inhalation or ingestion of the substance, and external with a deposit on the skin.

After a quick on-site check, no residual external body contamination was noted.

However, as a precautionary measure, analyzes were carried out at the Périgueux and Montpellier University Hospitals. Among the 11 people, two were treated in Montpellier by a team of firefighters from Hérault specializing in radiological risk.

The incident was not classified as serious by the ASN.