MELBOURNE, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Australian authorities on Tuesday sent more personnel and special investigative equipment, including a team from the country’s nuclear safety agency, to search for a small radioactive capsule on the outskirts of the city.
The capsule traveled 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) in Western Australia and is believed to have derailed a truck with several trailers, and the loss has sparked radiation warnings across much of the state.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services announced Monday that it will take five days to retrace the rail line. 660 km on Tuesday.
The hunt involves several government agencies, including the Department of Defence, police and now the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency and the Australian Nuclear and Science Technology Organisation.
The capsule is part of a scale used by Rio Tinto Ltd ( RIO.AX ) to measure the amount of iron ore feed supplied to specialist contractor SGS Australia for packing and baling. Transport was then subcontracted to logistics firm Centrion.
Officials say the vibrations from the train caused the wheels and a bolt on the gauge to loosen, causing the capsule to collapse. The probe was lifted from the mine site on January 12 and was unsealed for testing on January 25 when the capsule was discovered missing.
Capt. Masresha said in a statement that the capsule was removed from the equipment box. The shipping crate and pallet were provided by SGS, a Hundred spokesman told Reuters by telephone.
SGS did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Ryo apologizes for the hurt.
The train traveled from the Rio Case-Dari mine in the remote Kimberley region of the state to a depot on the outskirts of Perth – a distance longer than the length of Great Britain.
Search crews are traveling north and south along the state’s Great Northern Highway as well as other parts of the road train journey with special beam detection equipment.
“Today’s delivery further enhances our search efforts and the search complements the equipment we have been using since last Thursday,” Fire and Emergency Services Department of Emergency Operations Director Darryl Ray said in a statement.
“The instruments can detect the radiation emitted by the missing capsule and are currently being used in the Perth metropolitan area and suburbs.”
A silver capsule 6 mm in diameter and 8 mm long contains a beam of casium-137 that emits 10 X-rays per hour.
People are told to stay at least five meters (16.5 feet) away as exposure can cause radiation burns or radiation sickness, although driving past the capsule is relatively rare, similar to taking an X-ray.
Reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne and Louis Jackson in Sydney; Editing by Edwina Gibbs
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