During the recovery operations, the following steps were taken:
(1) The vehicle and container were positioned so the rear of the vehicle was close to the radioactive sources.
(2) Two members of the recovery team installed stairs on the vehicle.
(3) The recovery team was divided into two groups. The first was positioned in an area located 20 m from the radioactive sources. The second remained beyond that area at a safe distance from the location of the radioactive sources.
(4) Two members of the recovery team placed the manipulating devices near the location of the radioactive sources.
(5) One member of the recovery team cleared the surrounding area of the radioactive sources.
(6) One member of the recovery team collected one of the radioactive sources and placed it into a special vessel.
(7) Two members of the recovery team transferred the radioactive source in the special vessel to the vehicle.
(8) Two members of the recovery team standing on the vehicle received the radioactive source and placed it into the container.
(9) In the event that a recovery team member became unable to complete their activity (e.g. due to the dose received), a substitute person was ready and available.
(10) The second half of the recovery team conducted the same actions for the second radioactive source.
(11) One person conducted individual dosimetry control for all members of the recovery team and recorded the doses.
(12) Two members of the recovery team conducted dose rate monitoring.
(13) All actions were led by a team member assigned to give commands to start or to stop, according to the plan. A signal to stop was given to every worker after 40 s from the beginning of each activity, indicating replacement by the next worker.
*edit: formatting
> Following the exposure on 2 December 2001, all three patients exhibited in the first 24h symptoms of nausea, vomiting, asthenia (weakness), headaches and dizziness, followed by cutaneous radiation syndrome (CRS). These early clinical manifestations and anamnesis of the patients strongly indicated ARS of a haematological type for the three patients. Furthermore, Patient1-DN developed transitory oropharyngeal syndrome.
The last medical condition is usually found in older people, making swallowing difficult: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oropharyngeal_dysphagia
Also the PDF has some helpful pictures and diagrams. Looks like both original containers were nearly stacked and sideways on a rocky/hilly path, in a difficult to get to place.
But everytime I hear this story, I got to wonder who would pick up an object generating heat and not question why it's still hot hours later?
If you didn't know that radioactivity can cause heat, and you found a magic hot rock, do you think you'd go "I don't understand this, must be dangerous" or "I have now clue how this thing works but it's really useful, I'm gonna keep that thing"?
However, thinking I understand something when I really don't will probably be the end of me :-P
It's not Russia.
I'm trying to figure out how that works. One team moves the crane and the geiger counters near the device, the next team brings in the lead boxes, the next team attaches the device to the crane, the next team puts it in the box and closes the box, the next team checks that the box is working, and then someone else puts the boxes on a truck?