In 1962, A Boy Found A Radioactive Capsule And Brought It Inside His House — With Tragic Results

Over 60 years ago, a family in Mexico began to fall mysteriously ill. Fevers, fatigue, and strange symptoms swept through the household, but no one could explain why. The cause wasn’t in the water, nor in the food. It was a small metal capsule containing cobalt-60, a radioactive material, that had been sitting quietly in their new home, unleashing an invisible catastrophe.

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The story begins in March 1962 when the family moved into a new house in Mexico City, where a small lead container was found, according to a report by the family's doctors.

At some point between moving in and April, the radioactive source was taken out of the lead container and ended up in the yard. It was then found by the 10-year-old boy, who put the cobalt-60 capsule in his pocket and brought it into the house. His mother took the capsule from the trouser pocket and placed it in a kitchen drawer. 

Later that month, a grandmother came to live in the house. The report reads: "At that time, she noted for the first time the blackening of the glass tumblers that were kept in the piece of furniture where the capsule was."

Blackening of glass has been described in other reports of radiation exposure. However odd it might have been, it did not alert any of the family as to what was happening.

Investigators attempted to determine the doses of radiation the family received, which was no easy task, given that they were moving around inside and outside the house, and the team had to account for things like how much radiation was scattered and absorbed by objects around the home. Using information about the routines of the family, the team was able to estimate exposure. 

The 10-year-old received a high dose, mainly received during his direct contact with the cobalt-60. While the radioactive source was in the drawer, he and his sister were exposed to it less as they played outside. 

The mother, who was pregnant, received a large dose during this time due to her time spent preparing meals. This changed when she began to feel sick (due to the radiation) and the grandmother took over the chores from her while she rested.

On April 29, the 10-year-old son died, after which his 2-year-old sister spent more time inside with family, closer to the source. The mother died on July 19, at which point the capsule was found and removed from the house. However, the radiation had already done its damage and killed the 2-year-old daughter on August 18, followed by the grandmother on October 15. 

The father – the lone survivor of the incident – received around 990-1,200 radiation absorbed doses (rad), given his time away from the source, far lower than the boy's 4,700-5,200 rad.

It turned out that the cobalt-60 capsule originated from a hospital’s radiotherapy unit, once used for cancer treatment, although it remains uncertain how it ended up in the family's new property.

An earlier version of this article was published in February 2023.