Cleveland began a search Friday for three children who may have been exposed to radioactive material.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission dispatched staff to Cleveland to check the neighborhood where the children were seen playing with a container contaminated with Cesium 137.The search and the NRC surveillance were triggered by the discovery Wednesday of a 200-pound lead-shielded container marked "Caution: Radioactive Material."
The Cleveland Fire Department said a passing driver noticed three children, ranging in age from about 8 to 14, playing with the container Wednesday. The man chased the children away, took the container home and called the fire department.
Authorities want to figure out whether the container was empty when the children found it.