A radioactive iridium-192 source capable of causing permanent injury within minutes of exposure went missing in late July, according to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Prime NDT Services—a business based in Strasburg, Ohio, that uses nondestructive testing methods to evaluate the integrity of oil and gas pipelines—shipped the 192Ir source from Ohio to Michigan on 12 July. Eight days later the carrier informed the company of the disappearance. Dozens of similar incidents around the US have been reported to the NRC this year.
The risks of accidental radioactive contamination and deliberate dispersal by terrorists have prompted governments worldwide to fund the search for substitutes for commercial radioisotope technology. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, Congress tasked the National Research Council with reviewing technologies that rely on high-risk materials and recommending nonradioactive replacements that couldn’t be readily weaponized.
The report, released in 2008, found that a handful of...
