Radioactive material found at Seattle Goodwill warehouse

  • By Wire Service
  • Friday, August 10, 2018 2:16pm
  • Northwest

Associated Press

SEATTLE— A hazardous materials team has been called to a Goodwill warehouse in Seattle after a radioactive material was found.

KOMO-TV reported Friday that scrap metal contaminated with radium was dropped off as a donation.

A scrap metal recycler coming to pick up the metal discovered the radioactivity during a routine scan.

Emergency officials said the hazardous material was determined to be radium 226, which is considered dangerous mostly when it is ingested or inhaled.

Seattle Goodwill spokeswoman Katherine Boury says the amount found was very low in radiation.

A Seattle Fire Department spokesperson says radium 226 is common in old household items such clocks from the 1950s and 1960s and presents no risk to the general public.

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