Between January 11 and 16, a radioactive capsule was lost in Australia during transport by the Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto. Only 6 mm by 8 mm in size, this small gray capsule contains cesium-137, a isotopeisotope highly radioactive. This type of source can be used for density measurements, device calibration, or for other mining operations, explains IRSN. It was only a week after the passage that his disappearance was realized: the alert was immediately triggered, and active searches began!
She was eventually found 74 kilometers south of Newman, on the edge of the Great Northen Highway, a national highway. “Research teams have literally found the needle in the haystack”said WA Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson. The discovery was made while a research vehicle equipped with detectors was driving there at 70 km/h. The capsule will soon be placed in a lead container, after the area is secured within a radius of 20 meters around the source.
