コンテンツにスキップ

利用者:Ajinori Tamachi/sandbox

シウダーフアレス放射能汚染事故は、1984年にメキシコシウダーフアレスに発生した放射能汚染事故である。この事故は、民間の医療会社が違法に購入し、その後、操作する人員が不足して解体された放射線治療装置に起因するものであった。放射性物質であるコバルト60は廃品置き場に置かれ、そこで鋳物工場に売却された。鋳物工場はコバルト60を他の金属と誤って溶かし、約6,000トンの汚染鉄筋を製造した[1]。これらはメキシコの17州とアメリカのいくつかの都市に流通した。この事故により4,000人が被曝したと推定されている[1]

事故[編集]

発生経緯[編集]

1977年11月、チワワ州シウダーフアレスの私立病院であるCentro Médico de Especialidadesは、不法にメキシコに持ち込まれた、1個2.6 GBqのコバルト60のペレット約6,000個が入ったPicker C-3000放射線治療装置を購入した[2][3]。この装置は、病院がそれを操作する有資格者を欠いていたため、ほぼ6年間放置されていた[4]

当時、医療センターの職員だったビセンテ・ソテロ・アラルディンは、1983年12月6日、病院の保守管理者の依頼で、スクラップとして売却するためフェニックスにある廃品置き場で装置を解体した。ソテロは装置のヘッド部を分解し、コバルト60線源の入った円筒形容器を取り出した。彼はトラックの荷台の上で円筒形容器にドリルで穴を開けた。そのため、コバルト60の粒がトラックの荷台にこぼれた。コバルト60で汚染されたトラックは、その後、ソテロが廃品置き場から戻ると機械的故障に見舞われ、シウダーフアレスの自宅付近に40日間置かれていた[4]

一方、廃品置き場では、電磁石を使ってスクラップを扱っていたため、コバルト60の粒がヤード中に広がった。その微細な粒は、ヤード内の他の電磁クレーンの磁場に引き寄せられ、やがて他の金属に混じってしまった。この放射性スクラップは2つの鋳物工場に送られた: チワワ市の建設用鉄筋工場Aceros de Chihuahua(Achisa)と、テーブルベースの製造会社Falcón de Juárezである[5]。これらは1984年1月までにすでに米国とメキシコ内陸部に輸出されたと推定される[4]


放射性物質の検出[編集]

On January 16, 1984, a radiation detector at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the U.S. state of New Mexico detected the presence of radioactivity in the vicinity. The detector went on because a truck carrying rebar produced by Achisa had taken an accidental detour and passed through the entrance and exit gate of the laboratory's LAMPF technical area.[6] Local authorities realized that the rebar triggered the alert and notified Mexico's National Commission on Nuclear Safety and Safeguardsスペイン語版 (CNSNS) on January 18. CNSNS confirmed a wide dispersion of radioactive material had occurred and ordered Achisa to suspend the distribution of manufactured rebar until it was verified that it was not contaminated. Mexican authorities also proceeded to close the junkyard.[4]

On January 26, 1984, CNSNS personnel detected an abandoned truck emitting radiation levels of up to a thousand roentgens per hour. Since the vehicle was in a densely populated area, it was towed by a crane to El Chamizal Park. Having discovered the vehicle, CNSNS was able to track down Vicente Sotelo, who confirmed ownership and clarified that he worked at the Specialty Medical Center.[4] Upon further investigation the CNSNS concluded that in addition to the Fénix junkyard, Achisa, and Falcón, three other companies had received contaminated material: Fundival in Gómez Palacio, Alumetales in Monterrey, and Duracero in San Luis Potosí. It was estimated that the contaminated material had made its way into 30,000 table bases and 6,600 tons of rebar.[4][3]

Aftermath[編集]

Recovery and cleanup[編集]

Decontamination began on January 20, 1984, two days after CNSNS was notified by U.S. authorities. Between February 8 and April 14, work was carried out to locate and isolate contaminated material in the Fénix junkyard. Decontamination work was also carried out at the Achisa and Falcón foundries during this period, in addition to tracking shipments with contaminated rebar that had been dispatched to 17 Mexican states.[7]

CNSNS managed to recover 2,360 tons of unused rebar. It visited over 17,000 buildings suspected to be built with contaminated rebar, and determined that 814 structures would need to be demolished due to unacceptable levels of radiation.[8][9] CNSNS also managed to recover all of the 30,000 contaminated table bases, in addition to about 90% of the thousand tons of contaminated rebar that had been exported to the United States.[10] However, by June 1984, over a thousand tons of contaminated rebar remained unaccounted for, having been shipped to the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas.[11]

The work of retrieving the radioactive rebar was more complicated in these states; 434 tons of rebar were identified in Sonora, scattered throughout the state, including in the capital Hermosillo. Eighty tons of rebar had been shipped to Hidalgo and distributed among nine municipalities there, while 42 tons were recovered from the cities of Zacatecas and Fresnillo in Zacatecas. In those states, hundreds of fences and homes built with contaminated material had to be demolished.[10]

Storage of radioactive material[編集]

In February 1984, the CNSNS identified a site in the Samalayuca desert for the construction of a "cemetery" facility known as La Piedrera to house the radioactive material, where the rebar collected in Chihuahua was eventually stored in September 1984. Material collected in other areas was stored at facilities in Maquixco, Mexico State (70 tons) and Mexicali, Baja California (115 tons).[11]

According to CNSNS figures, 2,930 tons of contaminated rebar, 1,738 tons of contaminated unprocessed metal, 200 tons of metal table bases, 1,950 tons of contaminated scrap, 860 tons of containers with other contaminated material, and 29,191 tons of contaminated soil, slag, and plaster were stored in La Piedrera.[11]

In 2001, a report by El Universal noted that 110 tons of radioactive waste from the Ciudad Juárez incident had been kept outdoors. The material had been stored in the Sierra de Nombre de Dios between 1985 and 1998, and then transferred to Samalayuca, where it was deposited without proper shielding.[12] In 2004, an analysis by the National Autonomous University of Mexico revealed that radiation levels in Samalayuca were still alarmingly high and heavily criticized the fact that the waste had been stored without adequate containment measures.[11] In the four decades that have passed since the incident was discovered, the radiation intensity has decayed about 170 times, due to the natural half-life of cobalt-60.

Population exposure[編集]

According to the 1985 CNSNS report, about four thousand people were exposed to cobalt-60 radiation as a result of the incident.[3] It is estimated that almost 80 percent of people received a dose less than 500 mrem (equivalent to 5 mSv); 18 percent, between 0.5 and 25 rems (5–25 mSv); and only two percent (about 80 people) received doses greater than 25 rems (250 mSv). Of these, five people received a dose between 300 and 700 rems (3–7 Sv) over a period of two months.[3] CNSNS also examined Vicente Sotelo's neighbors, determining that three of them had received a dose above 100 rems (1 Sv).[13] For comparison, the average background radiation in the United States is 310 mrem (3 mSv) a year. Chronic doses above 20 rem (0.2 Sv) increase the risk of cancer. Acute doses of 500 rem (5 Sv) kill half of those affected without medical treatment.[14] Chronic doses (received over a longer period of time) are less damaging than acute doses.[15]

See also[編集]


References[編集]

  1. ^ a b Blakeslee, Sandra (1984年5月1日). “Nuclear Spill At Juarez Looms As One Of Worst”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. オリジナルの2015年2月8日時点におけるアーカイブ。. https://web.archive.org/web/20150208041927/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/01/science/nuclear-spill-at-juarez-looms-as-one-of-worst.html 2022年2月10日閲覧。 
  2. ^ Nénot, J.C. (1990). “Overview of the Radiological Accidents in the World, Updated December 1989”. International Journal of Radiation Biology 57 (6): 1073–1085. doi:10.1080/09553009014551201. ISSN 0955-3002. PMID 1971835. オリジナルのMarch 7, 2022時点におけるアーカイブ。. https://web.archive.org/web/20220307075053/http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.901.6636&rep=rep1&type=pdf 2022年3月6日閲覧。. 
  3. ^ a b c d Zuñiga-Bello, P.; Croft, J.R.; Glenn, J. (1998年). “Lessons learned from accident investigations”. IAEA. オリジナルの2022年3月7日時点におけるアーカイブ。. https://web.archive.org/web/20220307075048/https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/30/008/30008047.pdf 2022年3月6日閲覧。 
  4. ^ a b c d e f “México ha exportado 6.000 toneladas de acero contaminado por radiactividad” (スペイン語). El País. (1984年5月3日). ISSN 1134-6582. オリジナルの2022年2月5日時点におけるアーカイブ。. https://web.archive.org/web/20220205095711/https://elpais.com/diario/1984/05/04/sociedad/452469605_850215.html 2022年2月5日閲覧。 
  5. ^ Cardona, Valentín (2009年10月3日). “Chihuahua 1984” (スペイン語). www.imagenmedica.mx. 2022年3月7日時点のオリジナルよりアーカイブ。2022年3月7日閲覧。
  6. ^ Hubner, Karl F. (24 February 1984). "The Mexican 1983/1984 Cobalt-60 Accident" (PDF) (Report). 2022年3月7日時点のオリジナルよりアーカイブ (PDF)。2022年3月6日閲覧
  7. ^ Accidente por contaminación con cobalto-60 México 1984” (スペイン語). CNSNS. Secretaría de Energía, Minas e Industria Paraestatal. p. 17 (1985年9月). 2021年11月11日時点のオリジナルよりアーカイブ。2022年2月21日閲覧。
  8. ^ MEXICO: Recurring Risks from Radioactive Materials”. Inter Press Service (2011年4月18日). 2022年2月5日時点のオリジナルよりアーカイブ。2022年2月5日閲覧。
  9. ^ Lessons learned from accident investigations” (English) (1998年). 2022年3月6日時点のオリジナルよりアーカイブ。2022年2月12日閲覧。
  10. ^ a b Chernobyl en México: El accidente de radiación más grande” (スペイン語). FolkU (2020年6月29日). 2022年2月5日時点のオリジナルよりアーカイブ。2022年2月5日閲覧。
  11. ^ a b c d Energía y contaminación nuclear en México – Rebelion” (スペイン語). 2022年2月5日時点のオリジナルよりアーカイブ。2022年2月5日閲覧。
  12. ^ Mantienen a cielo abierto 110 ton de basura radiactiva” (スペイン語). El Universal. 2022年2月5日時点のオリジナルよりアーカイブ。2022年2月5日閲覧。
  13. ^ Carrasco Cara Chards, María Isabel (2021年7月2日). “The Mexican Chernobyl, The Biggest Nuclear Accident In The American Continent”. Cultura Colectiva. 2020年10月4日時点のオリジナルよりアーカイブ。2022年2月5日閲覧。
  14. ^ US Department of Energy, Dose Ranges Rem/Sievert Chart”. 2022年1月20日時点のオリジナルよりアーカイブ。2022年3月6日閲覧。
  15. ^ Brown, Kellie R.; Rzucidlo, Eva (2011-01-01). “Acute and chronic radiation injury” (英語). Journal of Vascular Surgery. Radiation Safety in Vascular Surgery 53 (1, Supplement): 15S–21S. doi:10.1016/j.jvs.2010.06.175. ISSN 0741-5214. PMID 20843630. 

Template:Nuclear and radiation accidents and incidents