The radioactive capsule, the size of a dime, that was reported missing from Western Australia last week has been located by the nation’s emergency services. Authorities in the sparsely inhabited Kimberley region of Western Australia claimed to have “actually found the needle in the haystack.”
An extraordinary public health alert covering hundreds of kilometres in the sparsely populated West Australian region was issued after the revelation of the loss last week.
West Australian emergency services minister Stephen Dawson told reporters, “I think West Australians can sleep better tonight. It’s a good result, as I’ve said it’s certainly a needle in a haystack that has been located.”
Who discovered the radioactive container?
A crew from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation discovered the capsule.
What transpired with Australia’s lost radioactive capsule?
After the Caesium-137 capsule was discovered missing on January 25, an urgent public warning was issued. According to reports, the capsule allegedly fell off a truck when it was being transported the 1,400-kilometer distance from a Rio Tinto mine to Perth.
It disappeared between January 11 and January 16, but local media didn’t mention its disappearance for over a week.
What’s the shape of the radioactive capsule?
The recently discovered capsule is said to be 6 mm in diameter and 8 mm in height. It is utilised in mining machinery, but if handled improperly, it can produce dangerously high radiation doses.
In a late-Friday-afternoon press briefing, Western Australians were alerted to the harmful missing capsule.
In a region spanning 1,400 kilometres, between Perth and the Pilbara, the state’s Chief Health Officer Andy Robertson issued a warning at the time.
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