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A radioactive capsule that fell from a truck in the Australian outback has been found – setting off radiation alerts and hundreds of miles of roads searched.
Western Australia’s emergency services minister said the silver capsule emitting the isotope Caesium-137 was located about two meters from the side of the road.
Authorities are looking for the 6mm by 8mm capsule and using radiation scanning equipment to retrace the truck’s 870 miles (1,400km) route.
The military is inspecting the capsule, which will be taken to a secure facility in Perth.
Minister Stephen Dawson described it as an “extraordinary result”.
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“Finding this object was a huge challenge when you consider the extent of the study area, and the search team was literally looking for a needle in a haystack,” he said.
When a vehicle equipped with scanning equipment drove by at about 43 mph (70 km/h), it detected the radiation.
People were warned that if they came within 5 meters of the capsule, they could get radiation burns, get sick and damage their immune and gastrointestinal systems.
However, driving by has been described as a much lower risk, similar to having an X-ray.
It was found so far away from any community that it was unlikely that anyone would have been exposed to it, Western said AustraliaChief Health Officer Andrew Robertson.
Finding capsules has been described as a needle-in-a-haystack scenario
Search covers hundreds of miles of highway
Owned by mining company Rio Tinto, the capsule is part of a meter used to measure the density of iron ore.
It is believed that vibrations during transport caused the screws and bolts to loosen from the gauge, causing it to fall.
The search is wide-ranging as the journey by truck from the Gudai-Darri mine in the remote Kimberley region to the outskirts of Perth is longer than the distance in the UK.
Police, the Department of Defense and the Australian Nuclear Agency were all involved after the capsule was reported missing on January 25.
An investigation will look at the disposal of pressure gauges and capsules in mines
They have been searching the state’s Great Northern Highway and other stretches of the route used by road trains – where a single truck pulls multiple trailers.
As of Tuesday, about 410 miles (660 kilometers) had been searched.
Rio Tinto, which handed over the capsules to another company for transport, apologized for the “very worrying” incident and said it had launched its own investigation.
Authorities are conducting their own investigations, but under state law from 1975, fines for mishandling radioactive material are currently just $1,000 – and the offense continues at $50 a day.
“That number is ridiculously low,” said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
“But I suspect it’s ridiculously low because people don’t think such items are going to get lost.”
Police have considered laying potential criminal charges but have concluded there is no case to answer.
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