Thirty years ago, Goiânia experienced what is considered the largest radiological accident in the world. The tragedy involving cesium-137 left hundreds of people contaminated by the element and many others with irreversible sequelae.
In terms of radioactivity, cesium-137 was only surpassed by the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986, in Ukraine, according to the National Commission of Nuclear Energy (Cnen). The incident began when two young scrap collectors found and opened a device containing the radioactive element. The piece was discovered in an abandoned building that used to house a deactivated clinic.
Even more than two decades after the tragedy, the accident still leaves traces of fear. One example is the situation of the place where one of the people who found the piece lived. The house where the collector lived was demolished in the same year everything happened. Although the soil was completely removed and replaced with several layers of concrete, no construction has ever been made on the site again.
Risks
According to radiodivision supervisor César Luis Vieira, who also worked at the time of the accident, the risk of contamination in Goiânia has practically been eliminated. “If you compare today’s results with those from back then, it’s a difference [in radiation] almost a thousand times lower,” he states.
César further explains that the radiation level in the city is considered within normal standards. “There is no place that doesn’t have radioactive material, such as uranium, which is in the soil. This is what we call natural radiation, but it poses no risk,” he adds.
About 6,000 tons of radioactive waste were collected in the capital after the accident. All this material suspected of contamination was taken to the Cnen unit in Abadia de Goiás, in the Metropolitan Region of the capital, where it was buried.
More than two decades later, the waste has lost half of its radiation. However, the complete risk of 
radiation is not expected to disappear for at least 275 years.
Complaints
To commemorate the accident, a meeting took place at the Legislative Assembly with more than 100 victims of cesium-137. Most of them still suffer from sequelae incurred during the episode.
Retiree Teodoro Bispo, who worked on the decontamination of the area affected by the accident, has had problems in various parts of his body, especially with his vision, due to contact with the radioactive element. He demanded improvements in hospital assistance and more attention from the government for the victims.
“They say we wouldn’t have anything, but many people are dying. We feel abandoned. We who 
decontaminated Goiânia received only R$ 622,” he laments.
Contamination
The tragedy began when two young recyclable material collectors opened a radiotherapy device in an abandoned public building in 1987, in downtown Goiânia. They intended to remove the lead and metal to sell and were unaware that inside the equipment was a capsule containing cesium-137, a radioactive metal.
Despite the device weighing about 100 kg, the duo took it to one of their homes in the city center. On the first day of contact with the material, both began to show symptoms of radioactive contamination, such as dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Initially, they did not associate the malaise with cesium-137, but rather with their food.
After five days, the equipment was sold to Devair Alves Ferreira, owner of a junkyard located in the Airport Sector, also in the central region of the city. At this location, the capsule was opened, and that night, Devair noticed that the material had an intense blue glow and took it inside his house.
Devair, his wife Maria Gabriela Ferreira, and other family members also began to show symptoms of radioactive contamination, unaware of what they had at home. He remained fascinated by the glow of the material. A few days later, the capsule with cesium was shown to several people who passed by the junkyard and also by the family’s house.
Leide das Neves
The first fatal victim of the radiological accident was the girl Leide das Neves Ferreira, aged 6. She became the symbol of this tragedy and died after being enchanted by the radioactive powder that glowed at night.
The girl even had a snack after playing with the novelty, accidentally ingesting particles of the powder mixed with her food. This happened out of her mother Lourdes das Neves Ferreira’s sight.
In an interview given last year, Lourdes said she feels guilty for her daughter’s death. “A movie keeps playing in my head. It’s been 25 years of suffering, pain, sadness, and anguish. I regret and hold myself accountable. If I hadn’t gone to take a shower, maybe she wouldn’t have ingested cesium powder particles,” she said.
Sources: www.anamt.org.br and G1