--- description: Five Mexican states are now on alert. title: Truck Transporting Radioactive Material Stolen in Mexico image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Truck Transporting Radioactive Material Stolen in Mexico  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 29, 2016 3:39 PM CUT  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 29, 2016 3:39 PM CUT A truck carrying dangerous radioactive material was [stolen](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/mexico/dangerous-radioactive-material-stolen-missing-mexico-n527906 "undefined") over the weekend in San Juan del Rio, Mexico. A bright yellow container with radioactive iridium-192 inside was in the truck when it was stolen early Saturday morning, according to a statement from the National Coordination of Civil Protection, a Mexican government agency. If released from its container, the radioactive material could cause “permanent or grave wounds” to a person who handles it even briefly, in a matter of minutes or hours, [NBC reports](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/mexico/dangerous-radioactive-material-stolen-missing-mexico-n527906 "undefined"). The Mexican states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi and Michoacanave have gone on alert since the radioactive material’s disappearance. \[[_NBC_](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/mexico/dangerous-radioactive-material-stolen-missing-mexico-n527906 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4241096/radioactive-material-stolen-mexico/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4241096/radioactive-material-stolen-mexico/"},"headline":"Truck Transporting Radioactive Material Stolen in Mexico","datePublished":"2016-02-29T15:39:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:27:42.674Z","description":"Five Mexican states are now on alert","url":"https://time.com/4241096/radioactive-material-stolen-mexico/","keywords":["Mexico"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4241096/radioactive-material-stolen-mexico/","name":"Truck Transporting Radioactive Material Stolen in Mexico"}}]}] ```