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In a Ciudad Juárez foundry, the scrap was turned into table pedestals that were shipped across the border but later tracked down. U.S. officials say they are almost certain that all of the contaminated legs were returned to Mexico. In Chihuahua, the junkyard material was converted into steel reinforcing rods, and according to Mexican officials, about 500 tons of this hot steel were shipped to the U.S. The rods were used in the construction of at least two houses near Farmington, N. Mex., and the owners had to replace their radioactive foundations. An additional 3,500 tons of steel remained in Mexico. Thus far, 30 to 40 houses built with the contaminated metal have been found in four Mexican cities.
Many of the residents of Ciudad Juárez are both bewildered and resentful. Some citizens do not understand what radiation is. Notes Sotelo's wife Alicia: "Down at the laundry, people asked the owner to keep me from going in. They thought I had some sort of contagious disease." To complicate matters, Mexican authorities have been reluctant to tell those who may have been exposed to radiation what the consequences might be. Says Sotelo: "They've said it could have long-term effects, but they haven't said what those effects are."
Roberto Trevino, the technical secretary of Mexico's National Nuclear Safety and Safeguards Commission, stresses that "there is no danger now." Nonetheless, two technicians are still searching for radioactive material on the Chihuahua-Ciudad Juárez highway, and the U.S. Department of Energy has conducted an airborne scan of the contaminated areas. The accident is a symptom of a larger problem, insists Antonio Ponce, a representative of Mexico's Nuclear Workers Union. He charges that the nuclear commission has been lax in cracking down on firms that handle radioactive material carelessly. Responds Trevino: "Their accusations are unfounded. The commission has technically done what it could."
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has also launched an inquiry into the incident. While the uncertainty lingers, Mexican engineers continue to clean up the junkyard, laboriously clearing away the top layer of soil. But not even such a thorough scouring will suffice to sweep away the fears of Sotelo and his neighbors.
—By Richard Stengel. Reported ááby Matt Pritchard/Ciudad Juárez and Gail Seekamp/Mexico City