In Australia’s wide western stretch, local authorities and employees from mining company Rio Tinto are searching for a needle in a very, very big haystack. To be specific, they are searching for a tiny, but ‘deadly’ radioactive capsule that got lost along a 1400 km long road.
VIDEO: Missing radioactive capsule sparks search in Australia.
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 31, 2023
Authorities are searching for a tiny – 8mm by 6mm – radioactive capsule along a desert highway after it went missing while being transported from a mine in the country's remote west pic.twitter.com/8pamsQnjWB
As per reports, a tiny capsule of Cesium-137, the size of 6mm x 8mm, smaller than a coin and smaller than the average human fingernail, has gone missing after it fell away from a transport truck. The capsule is radioactive and emits gamma rays, which can be dangerous. (Well, the same rays that turned Dr Bruce Banner into The Hulk).
An image of the capsule is below – pic.twitter.com/pbbtfZWEN9
— Chief Health Officer, Western Australia (@CHO_WAHealth) January 27, 2023
A truck was transporting the capsule from Rio Tinto’s Gudai-Darri mine in the Pilbara region to Perth when it ‘fell off somewhere’. But there is more to the story. The company realised that the capsule was missing only after an inspection on January 25. It was seen the last time on January 12.
It is believed that vibrations and rattlings in the truck may have caused the bolts to come loose during transport, eventually making the gauge tumble out and fall. When the truck was opened for inspection, they reportedly found the gauge broken apart, with mounting bolts missing and some screws gone.
Now, there are concerns that the tiny capsule may have got stuck in the tyre of a passing vehicle and can be just about anywhere in Australia. The search teams are equipped with sensors that can detect radiation emitted from the capsule around a 20-metre radius.
Authorities have released statements, asking people to be careful and not to touch the capsule if they see it. The capsule, though not exactly fatal, can cause serious radiation sickness in people who come in direct contact with it. While driving past it may be the same as getting an X-Ray done in terms of radiation exposure, prolonged contact can cause skin burns and even cancer.
It has a half-life of about 30 years.
Rio Tinto has, in the meanwhile, apologised for their mistake and is assisting the authorities in the search.
Gamma rays are among the most dangerous type of radiation as they are capable of stripping electrons out, thus damaging cells and even the DNA.
The tiny capsule has a radioactive load of 19 gigabecquerels, roughly equivalent to 10 medical X-Rays per hour. Such capsules are used in the mining industry to measure the density of iron ores, as per a report in DW.
