SYDNEY: After nearly a weeklong search involving about 100 people along a 1,400 kilometre (870 miles) stretch of highway, Australian authorities on Wednesday said they had found a radioactive capsule smaller than a coin that had been lost in the vast Outback.
According to officials from the state of Western Australia, the Caesium-137 capsule lost in transit more than two weeks ago was found when a car travelling at 70 km/h equipped with specialized detection equipment picked up the radiation.
The radioactive capsule was a component of a gauge that Rio Tinto used to gauge the density of the iron ore feed coming from its remote Gudai-Darri mine in the Kimberley region of the state. The gauge was being transported more than the length of Great Britain to a facility in the suburbs of the state capital, Perth.
If they saw the capsule, people had been warned to keep at least five meters (16.5 feet) away because radiation exposure could result in radiation sickness or radiation burns. Driving by it was thought to be relatively low risk, comparable to getting an X-ray.
After a search involving the state's emergency response department, defense authorities, and radiation specialists, Western Australia's Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson called the discovery a "extraordinary result."
"Finding this object was a monumental challenge when you consider the scope of the search area, the search groups have quite literally found the needle in the haystack," he said. Defence force members are checking the capsule's serial number while it is in a 20-meter exclusion zone.
Then, it will be put in a lead container and kept in a safe place for the night in Newman, a mining community about 1,200 kilometres northwest of Perth, before being transported to the state capital on Thursday.
Caesium-137, which emits radiation equivalent to 10 X-rays per hour, is contained in a silver capsule that is 6 mm in diameter and 8 mm long. The capsule reportedly fell off a truck while being transported and landed on the side of the road, according to officials. They added that it was unlikely the area would have been contaminated.
Iron ore division head Simon Trott told reporters that if the government so requests, Rio will foot the bill for the search. He added that the circumstances surrounding its loss would be thoroughly investigated, and the company would implement additional controls to prevent a repeat.
After entrusting the gauge to SGS Australia and Centurion for packaging and transportation, respectively, Rio said in a statement that it would look into whether the use of specialized contractors had been appropriate.
A request for comment from SGS was not immediately complied with. The crate and pallet provided by SGS arrived in Perth in the same condition as when the journey began, and GPS data had not indicated any abrupt changes in speed, according to a statement from Centurion. As a result, Centurion said it was interested in learning how the capsule became loose during transportation.
The fact that the crate wasn't opened for a week after delivery only serves to support the notion that this was a routine journey from a freight and logistics perspective, according to Centurion.
According to state radiation safety laws from 1975, there will be an investigation and possible prosecutions, according to Western Australia's Chief Health Officer Andrew Robertson.
The maximum fine for improper handling of radioactive materials is $1,000 and $50 per day the offence continues, but the state government announced on Wednesday that it was considering changing the laws to allow for higher fines. Any modification to penalties, according to officials, would not be retroactive.