Date: 1972

Location: Bulgaria

Type of event: suicide by self-inflicted radiation injury

Description:

An individual received a self-inflicted fatal radiation dose from cesium-137 capsules used for radiotherapy, possibly by injecting them into soft tissue. The localized dose exceeded 20,000 rad.

Consequences: 1 fatality.

References:

• IAEA, 1998, Planning the Medical Response to Radiological Accidents, IAEA (Vienna, Austria), on line at IAEA [http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1055_web.pdf].
• Mould, R. F., 2000, Chernobyl Record: The Definitive History of the Chernobyl Catastrophe, Institute of Physics Publ. (Bristol, UK).

© 2004, 2007 by Wm. Robert Johnston.
Last modified 24 September 2007.
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