Current:Home > MarketsA tiny but dangerous radioactive capsule is found in Western Australia -Streamline Finance
A tiny but dangerous radioactive capsule is found in Western Australia
View
Date:2025-04-12 20:32:12
Authorities in Western Australia said Wednesday they had found a tiny capsule containing radioactive material that went missing during transport last month on an Outback highway.
The round, silver capsule — measuring roughly a quarter of an inch in diameter by a third of an inch tall, or the size of the pea — was found south of the mining town of Newman on the Great Northern Highway. It was detected by a search vehicle when specialist equipment picked up radiation emitting from the capsule.
Portable search equipment was then used to locate it about 2 meters (6.5 feet) from the side of the road.
The search operation spanned 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) from the Outback to metropolitan Perth and yielded success in just seven days.
"We have essentially found the needle in the haystack," Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said in a statement. "When you consider the challenge of finding an object smaller than a 10-cent coin along a 1,400-kilometer stretch of Great Northern Highway, it is a tremendous result."
Prior to its recovery, authorities had said the capsule posed a radioactive substance risk in the regions of Pilbara, Midwest Gascoyne, Goldfields-Midlands and Perth, officials said.
"Exposure to this substance could cause radiation burns or severe illness – if people see the capsule or something that looks similar, stay away from it and keep others away from it too," Dr. Andrew Robertson, Western Australia's chief health officer and radiological council chair, said in a statement.
Inside the capsule is a small amount of radioactive Caesium-137, which is used in mining operations.
Authorities said the capsule can't be used to make a weapon, but it can cause health problems, such as radiation burns to the skin.
According to the state's Department of Fire and Emergency Services, the capsule was packed up on Jan. 10 for transport by road, and the shipment arrived in Perth on Jan. 16.
But when the gauge it was part of was unpacked for inspection on Jan. 25, workers discovered that the gauge had broken apart and the capsule was missing.
The capsule belongs to the mining company Rio Tinto, which said in a statement that it was sorry for the alarm caused by the missing piece.
The company said it had hired a third-party contractor to package the device and was working with that company to figure out what went wrong. Rio Tinto said it had also conducted radiological surveys of areas where the device had been as well as roads in and leading away from the Gudai-Darri mine site.
The more than 700-mile route from Perth to Newman then became the subject of a massive search. Officials from Western Australia's government as well as radiation specialists drove slowly up and down the Great Northern Highway on the hunt for the capsule roughly as wide as a pencil eraser.
Authorities warned anyone who might have come across the capsule to stay at least 16 feet away from it and not to touch it but rather to call the fire and emergency services agency.
veryGood! (21)
Related
- Vance jokes he’s checking out his future VP plane while overlapping with Harris at Wisconsin airport
- Stabbing death of Mississippi inmate appears to be gang-related, official says
- Emotions will run high for Virginia as the Cavaliers honor slain teammate ahead of 1st home game
- Tribal nations face less accurate, more limited 2020 census data because of privacy methods
- New Orleans mayor’s former bodyguard making first court appearance after July indictment
- Puzzlers gather 'round the digital water cooler to talk daily games
- How did NASA create breathable air on Mars? With moxie and MIT scientists.
- Adam Sandler's Sweet Bond With Daughters Sadie and Sunny Is Better Than Shampoo and Conditioner
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- US-backed Kurdish fighters say battles with tribesmen in eastern Syria that killed dozens have ended
Ranking
- Eva Mendes Shares Message of Gratitude to Olympics for Keeping Her and Ryan Gosling's Kids Private
- How to make yourself cry: An acting coach's secrets for on command emotion
- Judge says civil trial over Trump’s real estate boasts could last three months
- Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa not worried about CTE, concussions in return
- Beware of giant spiders: Thousands of tarantulas to emerge in 3 states for mating season
- Gunmen attack vehicles at border crossing into north Mexico, wounding 9, including some Americans
- How to watch NFL RedZone: Stream providers, start time, cost, host, more
- College football Week 2: Six blockbuster games to watch, including Texas at Alabama
Recommendation
The 'Rebel Ridge' trailer is here: Get an exclusive first look at Netflix movie
G20 leaders pay their respects at a Gandhi memorial on the final day of the summit in India
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders proposes carve-out of Arkansas public records law during tax cut session
Special election in western Pennsylvania to determine if Democrats or GOP take control of the House
Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
Residents and authorities in Somalia say airstrike caused several casualties including children
Arab American stories interconnect in the new collection, 'Dearborn'
Trial date set for former Louisiana police officer involved in deadly crash during pursuit