Image: HANDOUT (APA/AFP/Department of Fire and Emergency/HANDOUT)
Response teams from the Radiation Protection Agency and the Fire Service discovered the tiny but very dangerous capsule south of the mining town of Newman in the outback, ABC reported on Wednesday, citing the Western Australian state government.
The capsule reappeared after a search of almost a week along a 1,400-kilometer stretch of motorway. It is just six millimeters in diameter and eight millimeters long, regional minister for emergency services Stephen Dawson said on Wednesday. “I want to emphasize that this is an exceptional result,” said Dawson. “The search parties literally found a needle in a haystack.”
Cesium 137
The mini-casing containing the highly radioactive cesium-137 fell from a truck during a 1,200-kilometer journey from a mine north of the mining town of Newman to a depot near the city of Perth. The incident happened sometime after January 12th. It was not noticed until January 25, when the truck was unloaded, that the capsule was missing. At times it was feared she might have become stuck in the profile of a passing vehicle on the Great Northern Highway. However, according to fire department spokesman Darren Klemm, she was found two meters off the road.
A special detector on a search vehicle indicated the radiation. The capsule has been secured in a lead container and is scheduled to be stored overnight in a secure location in Newman. On Thursday, she will be transported to a facility run by the Ministry of Health, where she will be examined for any damage.
Capsules are used in mining
Radioactive capsules are used in mining. Iron ore is mainly mined in the Newman region. The British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto had apologized for the incident. The corporation operates the Gudai Darri mine, from where the capsule was transported. Rio Tinto says it hired a third party with the expertise and certification to securely package the capsule, which is smaller than a dime.
“It baffles me how something like that could fall from the back of a truck,” Secretary Dawson said earlier. Investigations into the process are ongoing. It is believed that vibrations caused a bolt in the container to loosen during travel and the mini-case fell through the bolt hole. It is considered unlikely that there will be legal proceedings. The government of Western Australia is currently trying to clarify how the expensive and time-consuming search should be paid for.
For days, the authorities had repeatedly asked people to keep a distance of at least five meters if they discovered the silver housing. The radiation could have burned the skin and, with prolonged exposure, also caused cancer.
Source: Nachrichten
