Tiny radioactive capsule sparks big search in Australia

Approximate size of the missing capsule

PERTH, Australia — Authorities in Western Australia were searching for a tiny but potentially deadly radioactive capsule that got lost while being transported on a truck from a mine to a depot in the city of Perth, officials said Saturday.

Emergency services said they were hampered by a lack of equipment and have called on the Commonwealth and other states to provide assistance.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has deployed teams with handheld radiation detection devices and metal detectors along 22 miles of a busy freight route to look for the 0.31- by-0.24-inch unit.

It is believed to have fallen off the back of a truck on a 870-mile journey from the Rio Tinto mine in Newman to the Perth suburb of Malaga.

“What we’re not doing is trying to find a tiny little device by eyesight,” said Superintendent Darryl Ray, adding they were concentrating on populated areas north of Perth and strategic sites along the Great Northern Highway.

“We’re using the radiation detectors to locate the gamma rays,” he said.

Authorities were also using the truck’s GPS data to determine the exact route the driver took and where it stopped after it left the mine on or about Jan. 10.

There are concerns the capsule may have become lodged in another vehicle’s tire and potentially be hundreds of miles away from the search area.

Police have determined the incident to be an accident and no criminal charges are likely.

Western Australia Chief Health Officer Andrew Robertson said the unit emits the equivalent of 10 X-rays in an hour and members of the public should stay at least 16 feet away. Contact could result in skin damage, burns and radiation sickness, including impacts to the immune and the gastrointestinal systems.

Long-term exposure could also cause cancer, however, experts say the capsule cannot be weaponized.

“Our concern is someone will pick it up, not knowing what it is, think this is something interesting (and) keep it,” Robertson said.