The Goiânia accident was a radioactive contamination accident that occurred on September 13, 1987, when an unsecured caesium chloride radiation source left in an abandoned hospital in Goiânia, Brazil. It was recovered by scavenger thieves unaware of its true nature. They played around with it then sold to a scrapyard, who's owner also played about with it. It was a family toy for a while. The clean-up operation involved top soil removal, demolishing several several houses and destroying contaminated objects from within those houses.