Passenger with dangerous levels of radiation in his underwear detected at China airport

At a routine check at the airport in the Chinese city of Dalian, An item of underwear recently set off radiation alarms, revealing dangerously high levels of radioactivity.

Zhou Shui Zi Airport Customs identified that the garment emitted a radiation dose of 5.61 μSv/h, a value 56 times higher than that recorded in the surrounding area, The local newspaper The Paper reported this Tuesday.

The garment of the passenger, whose identity and sex have not been made public, It contained americium-241, a radioactive isotope with a half-life of 432.2 years and which can harm the human body in case of prolonged exposure due to its ability to emit alpha particles and gamma rays during its decay.

In the last times, Chinese customs have repeatedly seized so-called “health” or “energy stones,” sometimes sold embedded in clothing and as health-enhancing products but sometimes showing high levels of radiation.

Besides, These materials are sold for their supposed ability to harmonize the five elements of ‘feng shui’, an ancient eastern popular system that establishes how objects and light should be arranged in buildings, and that seeks harmony between buildings and their surrounding environment, something that makes them attractive especially among older consumers.

Radiochemical experts cited by the local press remind that the supposed health benefits of these “energy stones” have no scientific basis. and they warn that not only “can they not treat diseases”, but they can also “cause illnesses” and “increase the risk of suffering from cancer.”