Abandoned Radioactive Container Found On Ukraine Train Track

A radioactive metal container was found near a railroad track in eastern Ukraine, the second such discovery in the country in the past few days.

Emergency officials said the object was releasing 12 times the normal background radiation for the area. They have not determined its contents, Oleh Bykov, spokesman for Ukraine’s civil defense service, said Wednesday.

The cylindrical container - about 16 inches long and 12 inches in diameter - was discovered Tuesday next to railroad tracks on the outskirts of Khartsyzsk, a town 360 miles southeast of Kiev.

Last week, pedestrians in Odessa discovered a container packed with radioactive cesium-137 and polonium-170 lying on the pavement. Investigators in that southern Ukrainian city were examining the object.