Current:Home > ContactA tiny but dangerous radioactive capsule is found in Western Australia -Wealth Legacy Solutions
A tiny but dangerous radioactive capsule is found in Western Australia
View
Date:2025-04-20 04:40:22
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! (26528)
Related
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Filings for jobless claims tick up modestly, continuing claims fall
- And you thought you were a fan? Peep this family's Swiftie-themed Christmas decor
- 'The Voice' contestant Tom Nitti reveals 'gut-wrenching' reason for mid-season departure
- New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
- National security advisers of US, South Korea and Japan will meet to discuss North Korean threat
- 1000-Lb. Sisters’ Tammy Slaton Returns Home After 14-Month Stay in Weight Loss Rehab
- Strikes on Gaza’s southern edge sow fear in one of the last areas to which people can flee
- Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
- Wisconsin appeals court upholds decisions denying company permit to build golf course near park
Ranking
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Twitch says it’s withdrawing from the South Korean market over expensive network fees
- An apocalyptic vacation in 'Leave The World Behind'
- Arizona man connected to 2022 Australian terrorist attack indicted on threat counts
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
- Climate talks shift into high gear. Now words and definitions matter at COP28
- An apocalyptic vacation in 'Leave The World Behind'
- Chinese navy ships are first to dock at new pier at Cambodian naval base linked to Beijing
Recommendation
Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
Meta makes end-to-end encryption a default on Facebook Messenger
Worried about retirement funds running dry? Here are 3 moves worth making.
Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is freed from prison on humanitarian grounds
In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
From SZA to the Stone of Scone, the words that help tell the story of 2023 were often mispronounced
Arizona man connected to 2022 Australian terrorist attack indicted on threat counts
Twitch says it’s withdrawing from the South Korean market over expensive network fees