Item that shut Centre Street in Jamaica Plain was a small lead container once used to hold radioactive material

The thing that sent three employees at Boomerangs, 716 Centre St. in Jamaica Plain, to the hospital as a precaution yesterday evening and led to Centre Street being shut on either side of the store was a "lead pig" - a small lead container with a screw top - designed to hold radioactive material.

In a post in the Jamaica Plain Facebook group, the store's manager, Dee Moore, writes today that someone "unknowingly donated an antique 'lead pig' that they use to transport radioactive materials to shield people from the radiation."

A store employee recognized the item, small enough to be held in one's hand, and alerted her, and she promptly contacted Fenway Health - which oversees the store - BFD and Public Health.

What they found was that the item did at some point hold a type of radioactive material which often are in a powdery substance. Considering that several of us had handled the object directly without gloves, we were taken to get tests done to make sure we were all okay.

She adds:

The store is safe and everyone who was present on Wednesday and Thursday should not be worried about exposure. All of our tests came out okay and we're all resting and recovering after the ordeal!

In a separate statement, Robert Johnson, Fenway Health's director of safety, security and facilities, says what little radiation was being emitted was "very low level, and should not be a concern for staff."

He added it appears the store got the item from "someone with good intent to make a donation who didn't realize what this item may have been," but that Boston Police are continuing to investigate.