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An aerial view of Mount Whaleback Mine near the town of Newman, Australia.
AUSTRALIA – The people of Western Australia will feel a little calmer. A potentially dangerous radioactive capsule has been found in Australia, where it has been wanted since mid-January, after it was lost while being transported by truck from a mine, authorities said on Wednesday February 1.
“That’s a good thing. Like I said, it was definitely a needle in a haystack that was found and I think the people of Western Australia will be able to sleep better tonight,” Steve Dawson, head of emergency services in that Australian state .
BREAKING: A potentially deadly radioactive capsule has been found in the WA outback a week after it went missing. 7… https://t.co/1rrIJeGtiw
— 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia)
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto apologized for the loss on Monday.
Authorities drove hundreds of freeway miles in search of the tiny capsule.
Discovery at the edge of a deserted road
She was eventually discovered on the side of a deserted road south of the town of Newman, near the mine from which she had been transported, State Emergency Services official Darren Klemm said.
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After six days of research, one of the mobilized vehicles detected radiation while driving on the freeway.
Authorities are now working to safely recover the capsule before they are moved to a safe location, Darren Klemm said.
The silver-colored capsule, which measures 8mm by 6mm and is used in mining according to authorities, contains a radioactive substance, cesium-137, which can cause acute irradiation.
It was lost while being trucked from a mine near the remote town of Newman to Perth’s northern suburbs, a distance of around 1,400 kilometers.
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