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A glowing blue powder poisoned an entire Brazilian city. ☢️
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Science Gone WrongAug 20, 2026

A glowing blue powder poisoned an entire Brazilian city. ☢️

A glowing blue powder poisoned an entire Brazilian city. ☢️ . . . On September 13, 1987, scavengers removed a radiotherapy source from an abandoned clinic in Goiânia. Its cesium-137 fascinated residents because it glowed blue. Authorities monitored 112,000 people; 249 were contaminated and 4 died. The beautiful light was lethal radiation.

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Source

International Atomic Energy Agency, 1988, 'The Radiological Accident in Goiânia'

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