Environmental radioactivity part of the Chernobyl release was the caesium-137, this isotope is responsible for much of the long term (at least one year after the fire) external exposure which has occurred at the site. The caesium isotopes in the fallout have had an effect on farming. A large amount of caesium was released during the Goiânia accident where a radioactive source (made for medical use) was stolen and then smashed open during an attempt to convert it into scrap metal. The accident could have been stopped at several stages; first, the last legal owners of the source failed to make arrangements
Caesium-137 junkyards, and the glowing caesium salt sold to curious, unadvised buyers. This led to four confirmed deaths and several serious injuries from radiation contamination. Caesium gamma-ray sources that have been encased in metallic housings can be mixed in with scrap metal on its way to smelters, resulting in production of steel contaminated with radioactivity. The Kramatorsk radiological accident happened in 1989 when a small capsule containing highly radioactive caesium-137 was found inside the concrete wall of an apartment building in Kramatorsk, Ukrainian SSR. It is believed that the capsule, originally a part of a measurement device, was lost in the