A traditional Easter egg hunt turned into a high-security operation in the northwest of Stuttgart, Germany. Two men made a surprising discovery while searching for hidden Easter eggs (a widespread tradition in German-speaking countries) in their family garden in Vaihingen an der Enz.
The festive afternoon ended with the arrival of firefighters and experts from the Ministry of the Environment, after the two men found a bottle labeled "Polonium 210," a dangerous radioactive substance. According to German police, they found a white plastic bottle with a red cap and immediately called emergency services. After initial investigations, the commander of the local fire department, Andy Dorroch, explained that the bottle was "clearly and officially labeled" and weighed 200 grams, consistent with a substance known as Polonium-210.
Tests conducted near the discovery site for the presence of radioactivity were negative, but experts from the Ministry of the Environment nevertheless removed the bottle for specific analyses, which will determine the nature of its contents. Polonium-210 is a potentially deadly radioactive substance. According to the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, the substance is particularly dangerous if ingested or absorbed through the skin via open wounds.