Radioactive substance found in bus en route from Iran to Türkiye

Six grams of californium (a radioactive element) hidden in packs of cigarettes have been found and seized in a passenger bus en route from Iran in the Dogubayazit district of the Agri province (eastern Türkiye), Report informs referring to Turkish media.

The police brigade conducted a search in the passenger compartment of the bus, during which they found nine boxes of cigarettes, which presumably belong to the driver - an Iranian citizen. In addition to the californium substance, they found 378 gold coins hidden in cigarette packs.

Californium is one of the most expensive chemical elements. It is a mixture of 17 isotopes. Despite the extreme degree of toxicity, it contains a huge energy potential. Just 1 gram is capable of generating up to 2.5 billion neutrons every second. Therefore, the cost of the substance is huge - no less than $27 million per gram.

It is used in the development of new nuclear fission processes, space research, the search for mineral deposits (mainly precious metals), oil deposits and groundwater reservoirs, the analysis of the integrity of aircraft, spacecraft, nuclear reactors.