The loss of a radioactive pea-sized capsule triggered a massive search. Australian authorities announced that the miniature capsule of radioactive caesium that was dropped from a Rio Tinto truck has been found. Rescuers have been searching for it along a 1400 km stretch of highway since last week.
Rescuers had truly found a needle in a haystack, said representatives from Western Australia, and participants in the operation praised their colleagues from various services for their collective efforts in the face of a seemingly impossible task.
The loss of a dangerous container measuring 6 by 8 millimeters has triggered a search operation of titanic proportions. The capsule contains a small amount of the radioactive isotope caesium-137, which upon contact can cause radiation exposure and serious illness.
Since Wednesday, January 25, groups of rescuers equipped with specialized equipment have been searching for a capsule on the road that crosses the largest state of the country. The total length of the route is 1400 km – approximately the distance from Moscow to Perm or Ekaterinburg.
According to authorities, the capsule was found on the side of the road, two meters from the road, after a specially equipped car passing by at a speed of 70 km/h detected radiation. They have fenced off a 20-meter radius danger zone around the capsule. Now they will place the capsule in a lead container and send it for temporary storage to a safe place in the town of Newman, and from there to Perth.
The Rio Tinto Company has apologized for the loss of a capsule that reportedly fell during transport in Western Australia. This could have happened up to two weeks ago. The container is part of a rock density measuring device widely used in the mining industry. Until recently, the device was used at Rio Tinto’s Gudai-Darri mine, where iron ore is mined. On January 12, the capsule set off on its journey: the subcontractor was supposed to transport it to another facility. And on January 25, it was discovered missing, but it is not known exactly when the capsule disappeared.
The authorities have confirmed that the lost capsule has been found after checking its serial number. The company promised to conduct an internal investigation into the reasons for the disappearance. “Rio Tinto engaged a sub-contractor with the necessary level of experience and certification to ensure reliable packaging of the device during preparation for shipment from the site and delivery to the Perth facility,” the company statement said. “A Geiger counter was used to confirm the presence of a capsule inside the packaging before the device was shipped.”
This is not the first scandal involving Rio Tinto in Australia. In September 2020, the company’s management decided to blow up a 46,000-year-old cave complex in the Juukan Gorge as part of the mine’s expansion. These caves are considered sacred by local Aboriginal people, and the public outcry significantly damaged the company’s reputation and led to the resignation of some members of its management.
Last week, authorities in Western Australia declared a radiological alert for the entire territory. The state’s chief medical officer of health, Andrew Robertson, warned the public that contact with the capsule could result in a radiation dose of about 10 roentgens per hour – the same amount we receive in a year just by being outdoors.
Small but dangerous: the capsule contains radioactive caesium. The main danger, he said, was that someone might pick up the capsule without knowing its contents. “If you touch this capsule or keep it close to you, you can get skin damage, including burns, and if you stay near it for a long time, you can get radiation sickness,” Robertson warned.
The road between the cities of Newman and Perth, where the capsule was searched for, runs mostly through a desert area where virtually no one lives. Four-fifths of the state’s population lives in Perth itself, so the possibility of contact with radioactive material was minimal.