This is a chronological list of orphan source incidents and accidents.
Note: As incident reporting has used inconsistent units of measurement, here are the conversion factors; metric prefixes are used where appropriate - kilo (k), mega (M), giga (G), tera (T):
20th century
1960s
1962 – Mexico City – 1962 Mexico City radiation accident
January 11, 1963 – Sanlian, Hefei, Anhui, China – A cobalt-60 source from an industrial seed irradiator was removed from a buried waste repository and taken to a residence by a child. Over the next 5-9 days, six total family members were exposed. Two died and four were injured.
May 3, 1968 – La Plata, Argentina – A construction worker at a chemical plant discovered a caesium-137 source and carried it in his pants pocket for 17 hours (right pocket for 7 hours, left pocket for 10 hours). The worker suffered a localized dose of , leading to permanent sterility and the eventual amputation of both legs. 17 workers were exposed to an estimated dose of .
September 18, 1968 – F.R. Germany – An iridium-192 source was mishandled by workers, with one person placing the source in their jacket pocket. Six workers were exposed, with one receiving a whole body dose and localized dose to their pelvic and thigh regions.
1970s
1971 – Chiba, Japan – a iridium-192 source used for industrial radiography was lost. Six construction workers received doses of .
January 8, 1977 – Sasolburg, Free State, South Africa – a iridium-192 source fell out of its container at a construction site. The radiographer did not notice the loss of the source and left the site. A construction supervisor later picked up the source and placed it in his shirt pocket. He travelled home and placed the source in a cupboard. The source was recognized as lost two days later after workers were shown a replica and it was recovered the same day. The supervisor received a whole body dose of and required the amputation of two fingers. His wife and child received doses of and respectively.
May 5, 1978 – Setif, Algeria – A iridium-192 source fell off a truck during transport. Two children found it and kept it for several days before giving it to their grandmother, who kept it in the kitchen of her home. After 38 days radiation exposure was identified by medical personnel. The grandmother died of radiation injuries, and six members of her family received varying radiation injuries.
November 14, 1978 – Kambalda East, Western Australia, Australia – A density gauge containing caesium-137 at the Kambalda Nickel Operations was discovered to be missing. Subsequently, caesium-137 radiation contamination was found at a furnace in Singapore which had accepted scrap metal from the Kambalda operation. After years of negotiation, 119 drums of slightly contaminated waste, holding bricks and sludge from the Singapore furnace were eventually transported to Western Australia in December 1981 and stored in a bunker at Kambalda.
June 5, 1979 – Los Angeles, California, United States – A iridium-192 source was lost on a job site. A worker picked it up and carried it in his pocket for 45 minutes before giving it to a manager. The worker received a whole body dose and a surface dose ( at 1-cm depth) to his buttocks.
1980s
October 5, 1982 – Baku, Azerbaijan – An individual carried a caesium-137 source in their pocket, exposing several individuals. Five people died and 13 others were exposed, including one person who suffered ARS.
1982 – Vikhroli, Mumbai, India – An iridium-192 source was lost during transport. A railway worker who found the source suffered significant exposure.