chofer

The cover picture shows the hydroelectric plant at Yanango.

THE RADIOLOGICAL ACCIDENT
IN YANANGO

The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency:
AFGHANISTAN
ALBANIA
ALGERIA
ANGOLA
ARGENTINA
ARMENIA
AUSTRALIA
AUSTRIA
BANGLADESH
BELARUS
BELGIUM
BENIN
BOLIVIA
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
BRAZIL
BULGARIA
BURKINA FASO
CAMBODIA
CAMEROON
CANADA
CHILECHINA
COLOMBIA
COSTA RICA
COTE D'lVOIRE
CROATIA
CUBA
CYPRUS
CZECH REPUBLIC
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
OF THE CONGO
DENMARK
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
ECuADOR
EGYPT
EL SALVADOR
ESTONIA
ETHIOPIA
FINLAND
FRANCE
GABON
GEORGIA
GERMANY
GHANA
GREECE

GUATEMALA
HAITI
HOLY SEE
HUNGARY
ICELAND
INDIA
INDONESIA
IRAN. ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF
IRAQ
IRELAND
ISRAEL
ITALY
JAMAICA
JAPAN
JORDANKAZAKHSTAN
KENYA
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
KUWAIT
LATVIA
LEBANONLIBERIA
LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA
LIECHTENSTEIN
LITHUANIA
LUXEMBOURG
MADAGASCAR
MALAYSIA
MALI
MALTA
MARSHALL ISLANDS
MAURITIUS
MEXICO
MONACO
MONGOLIA
MOROCCO
MYANMAR
NAMIBIA
NETHERLANDS
NEW ZEALAND
NICARAGUA
NIGER
NIGERIA
NORWAY
PAKISTAN-

PANAMA
PARAGUAY
PERU
PHILIPPINES
POLAND
PORTUGAL
QATAR
REPUBLIC OFMOLDOVA
ROMANIA
RUSSIAN FEDERATIONSAUDI ARABIA
SENEGAL
SIERRA LEONE
SINGAPORE
SLOVAKIA
SLOVENIA
SOUTH AFRICA
SPAIN
SRI LANKA
SUDAN
SWEDENSWITZERLAND
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
THAILAND
THE FORMER YUGOSLAV
REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
TUNISIA
TURKEY
UGANDA
UKRAINE
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
UNITED KINGDOM OF
GREAT BRITAIN AND
NORTHERN IRELAND
UNITED REPUBLIC
OF TANZANIA
UNITED STATES OFAMERICA
URUGUAY
UZBEKISTAN
VENEZUELA
VIET NAM
YEMEN
YUGOSLAVIA
ZAMBIA
ZIMBABWE

The Agency's Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the
IAEA held at United Nations Headquarters, New York; it entered into force on 29 July 1957. The
Headquarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is "to accelerate and enlarge thecontribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world".
€> IAEA, 2000
Permission to reproduce or translate the information contained in this publication may be
obtained by writing to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramer Strasse 5, P.O. Box 100,
A-1400 Vienna, Austria.
Printed by the IAEA in Austria
August 2000
STI/PUB/1101

THE RADIOLOGICAL ACCIDENT
INYANANGO

INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY
VIENNA, 2000

VIC Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
The radiological accident in Yanango. — Vienna: International Atomic Energy
Agency, 2000.
p. : 24 cm.
STI/PUB/1101
ISBN 92-0-101500-3
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Nuclear industry — Peru — Accidents. 2. Radiological Accident,
Yanango, Peru, 1999. I. International AtomicEnergy Agency.
VICL

00-00247

FOREWORD
The use of radioactive materials offers a wide range of benefits throughout the
world in medicine, research and industry. Precautions are, however, necessary in
order to limit the exposure of persons to the radiation that is emitted. Where the
amount of radioactive material is substantial, such as with sources used in
radiotherapy or industrialradiography, extreme care is necessary to prevent accidents
that may result in severe consequences for the affected individuals. Nevertheless, in
spite of the precautions taken, accidents with radiation sources continue to occur,
albeit infrequently. As part of its activities dealing with the safety of radiation sources,
the IAEA follows up severe accidents with a view to providing an account oftheir
circumstances and the medical aspects from which those organizations with
responsibilities for radiation protection and the safety of sources may learn.
A serious radiological accident occurred in Peru in February 1999 when a
welder picked up an I92 lr industrial radiography source and put it in his pocket for
several hours. This resulted in his receiving a high radiation dose that...