SYDNEY, Feb 1 (Reuters) – Australian authorities on Wednesday found a radioactive capsule missing from a vast outback after a nearly week-long search along a 1,400 km (870 mile) highway, an emergency services official said.
The military was investigating the capsule and it will be taken to a secure facility in Perth on Thursday, Emergency Minister Stephen Dawson told a news conference.
“When you consider the scope of the research area, finding this object was a huge challenge, the search teams literally found a needle in a haystack,” Dawson said.
The radioactive capsule was a measuring device used to measure the amount of iron ore feed from Rio Tinto’s ( RIO.AX ) Case-Dari mine in the remote Kimbeley region of the state. Ore was transported to a facility on the outskirts of Perth – a distance longer than the length of Great Britain.
Officials from Western Australia’s Emergency Response Unit, defense officials, radiation specialists and others are combing a stretch of highway for the tiny capsule that disappeared in transit two weeks ago. Read more
Latest updates
See 2 more stories
The capsule fell off the truck and landed on the side of the road, officials said.
There can be no pollution in the area.
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 were told to stay at least five meters (16.5 feet) away from the capsule if they felt exposure could cause radiation burns or radiation sickness, but driving past it was believed to be a relatively low risk, similar to taking X-rays. Radiation.
Reporting by Louis Jackson; Writing by Praveen Menon; Editing by Christopher Cushing
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.