The Radiological Incident in Lia, Georgia

On a cold December day in 2001, three men took their truck and drove 50 kilometers east from their village Lia in order to collect firewood. The village of Lia is located in the district of Tsalenjhikha, approximately 320 km north-west of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Late in the afternoon, after the sun had gone down, the men discovered two curious objects. Lying in the forest path were two metallic cylinders. Around them, the snow had thawed up to a radius of approximately 1 meter, and the wet soil was steaming. The objects were small—about 6 inches tall and 4 inches across—but heavy. One of the men picked one up, but finding that it was hot, dropped it immediately. Encouraged by the unusual but welcome find, the men changed their plans. They decided that since it was getting dark, they would spend the night in the forest and return with the firewood the next morning. They would use the hot cylinders, whatever they were, to keep themselves warm during the frigid night. The mysterious hot cylinders the men discovered in the forest. One of the cylinders had holes on the frame. One man used a strong wire, hooked it into the holes and carried the cylinder to an empty spot in the woods behind a large rock. There they lit a fire to prepare dinner. The second cylinder did not have any holes, and the men lifted it with their bare hands and carried it to their makeshift camp for the night. The three men warmed themselves during the night using an open fire on one side and the hot cylinders behind their backs. After dinner, they drank some vodka and were settling down for sleep when they felt sick. They thought it was from the alcohol, even though they each had only about 100 mL. None of the men could get a wink of sleep. About 3 to 4 hours after the first contact with the mysterious cylinders, the men began to suffer from nausea, headaches, dizziness and vomiting. The vomiting was very intensive and lasted throughout the night.