Australia recovers radioactive capsule. It was like finding ‘needle in the haystack’
Australian authorities on Wednesday found a radioactive capsule smaller than a coin that was lost in the vast Outback after nearly a week-long search involving around 100 people along a 1,400km stretch of highway, officials said.
The Caesium-137 capsule lost in transit more than two weeks ago was discovered when a vehicle travelling at 70kmph equipped with specialist detection equipment picked up the radiation, according to officials from the state of Western Australia.
The search team then used portable detection equipment to find the capsule, which was located about two metres from the side of the road in a remote area far from any community, they added.
The radioactive capsule was part of a gauge used to measure the density of iron ore feed from Rio Tinto's Gudai-darri mine in the state's remote Kimberley region. The gauge was being taken to a facility in the suburbs of state capital Perth — a distance longer than the length of Great Britain.
People had been told to stay at least five metres away if they spotted the capsule, because exposure could cause radiation burns or radiation sickness. However, driving past it was believed to be relatively low risk, akin to taking an X-ray.
Western Australia's Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said the find was an "extraordinary result" after a search involving the state's emergency response department, defence authorities and radiation specialists. "When you consider the scope of the search area, locating this object was a monumental challenge, the search groups have quite literally found the needle in the haystack," he said.
A 20-metre exclusion zone has been set up around the capsule while defence force members verify it via a serial number.
It will then be placed in a lead container and stored overnight at a secure location in Newman, a mining town roughly 1,200km northwest of Perth, before being taken to the state capital on Thursday. The silver capsule, 6mm in diameter and 8mm long, contains Caesium-137 which emits radiation equal to 10 X-rays per hour.
Officials said the capsule apparently fell off a truck during transport and landed on the side of the road, adding that it was unlikely there will be contamination in the area.