SYDNEY, Feb 1 (Portal) – Australian authorities on Wednesday found a radioactive capsule lost after nearly a week of searching along a 1,400 km (870 miles) stretch of highway in the vast outback, an emergency services official said.
The military is verifying the capsule and it will be moved to a secure facility in the city of Perth on Thursday, Emergencies Minister Stephen Dawson said in a news conference.
“When you consider the scope of the research area, locating this object was a monumental challenge, the search parties literally found a needle in a haystack,” Dawson said.
The radioactive capsule was part of a gauge used to measure the density of iron ore from Rio Tinto’s (RIO.AX) Gudai Darri mine in the state’s remote Kimberley region. The ore was hauled to a plant in the Perth suburbs – a route longer than the length of Britain.
Officials from Western Australia’s Emergency Department, defense agencies, radiation specialists and others have scoured a stretch of motorway for the tiny capsule, which was lost in transit more than two weeks ago. Continue reading
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Officials said the capsule appeared to have fallen off a truck and landed on the side of the road, adding that it did
Contamination is unlikely to occur in the area.
The silver capsule, 6mm in diameter and 8mm long, contains cesium-137, which emits radiation at the rate of 10 X-rays per hour.
People have been told to stay at least five meters (16.5 feet) from the capsule if they spot it, as exposure could result in radiation burns or radiation sickness, although driving by is believed to pose relatively little risk, similar to the X-ray.
Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Writing from Praveen Menon; Editing by Christopher Cushing
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