50 Evacuated After X-Ray Machine Jams
About 50 people were evacuated from a Reseda apartment complex Wednesday evening when an X-ray machine malfunctioned and emitted small amounts of radiation behind the complex, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported.
Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells said the mishap occurred about 5:20 p.m. while workers were X-raying a concrete structure behind the apartment building at 19545 Sherman Way to locate a reinforcement bar. The X-ray machine did not close properly and a container of cobalt 60 was emitting small amounts of radioactivity.
No one was injured, but firefighters evacuated the building as a precaution and a stretch of Sherman Way--between Corbin and Shirley avenues--was also closed for several hours until county health officials removed the machine, firefighters said.
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