The life-threatening incident Sunday in Bangkok, Thailand, involving the contamination of scrap yard workers who came in contact with a canister containing radioactive waste, points to the dangers of both the increased use of food irradiation and the push to recycle radioactive metals.

 Eighteen people from the outskirts of Bangkok have been hospitalized due to exposure to cobalt 60, a radioactive isotope used to irradiate food. Three workers who handled the metal cylinder in the scrap yard may not survive. Medical research shows that exposure to this radioactive element is likely to cause cancer.

 As the U.S. government gives the green light for more foods to be irradiated, there are an increasing number of facilities using radioactive isotopes for food irradiation here. Not only do these facilities pose a danger to the communities where they are located, but the increased nuclear waste creates unnecessary risk to the public.

 In addition to reminding us how unsafe and unwise food irradiation is, these accidents demonstrate the risk posed by the recycling of radioactive metal, a practice being promoted by the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In Sunday’s incident, the metal cylinder containing cobalt 60 had been taken to the scrap yard for recycling. According to The Bangkok Post, a similar accident happened a year ago in Turkey when a number of people suffered immune system injuries from radiation exposure from a cobalt 60 source that found its way to a scrap metal dealer there.

 We cannot let similar incidents occur here. Materials that are radioactive must be carefully contained and controlled, not released into commerce.