I didn't know the glowing blue powder was radioactive

In September 1987, bus driver Odesson Ferreira finished work and went to visit his brother at home in the Brazilian city of Goiânia. His brother, a scrapyard owner, had recently purchased part of an abandoned medical device that had become the talk of the neighbourhood. Friends, relatives and neighbours were fascinated by the strange and beautiful blue glow it emitted – unaware it contained a highly radioactive substance called Caesium-137. By the time the powder's radioactivity was discovered, hundreds of people had been contaminated, including dozens of Odesson's relatives. Odesson battled radiation sickness, grieved members of his family who died and saw survivors face stigma and discrimination. He became determined to understand how the event could have happened and spent decades campaigning for the recognition of those affected. Today, nearly 40 years after incident, Odesson has found peace living in the countryside and has begun writing his own account of the worst radiological accident in Brazil's history.

Lifelong sports fan and journalist Neil Squires spent decades interviewing elite athletes, having given up on the cherished childhood hope of competing alongside them. Then, in January 2024, after five years as Chief Sports Writer at a national newspaper, he was made redundant. He found himself at a crossroads, wondering what came next. Everything changed when his son Louis sent him a short video of a little-known Finnish game called Mölkky, along with a simple message: “I think you might like this.” Intrigued, Squires threw himself into learning the game and roped some friends into a team. He quickly became obsessed. When he learned the World Mölkky Championship was being held in Japan, he decided this was their chance. Arriving in Japan, as Great Britain’s only team in the Nations Cup, they found themselves representing their country on the world stage. They attracted attention from Japanese media, competed against experienced international opponents and exceeded all expectations by reaching the quarter-finals and finishing seventh in the world. The team continues to compete and Squires' book about their adventures, The Fall and Rise of the Mölkky Bar Kids, was published earlier this year.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producers: Marcia Veiga and Hetal Bapodra
Voiceover: Luiz Fernando Toledo

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(Photo: Odesson Ferreira looks down into the camera lens with a serious expression on his face. He is wearing an orange polo shirt with the collar popped open. He is showing his palms to the camera. The index finger on his right hand has been partially amputed, and the palm on his left hand reveals a large brown scar. The background is blurred showing a bright blue sky and some green foliage. Credit: Associação das Vítimas do Césio-137 (AV-Césio))