Australia: Mining company issues apologises for losing 'tiny but lethal' radioactive capsule during transportation

Perth: A highly radioactive capsule that was being transported across a 1,400 km stretch of road in Western Australia went missing, and the mining company in charge of it has apologised for “creating an alarm” in the neighbourhood.

Simon Trott, chief executive of mining behemoth Rio Tinto Iron Ore, stated on Sunday, “We recognise this is clearly very concerning and are sorry for the alarm it has created in the Western Australian community.

He added, “We have initiated our own inquiry to establish how the capsule was lost in transportation, in addition to properly aiding the pertinent authorities.

In addition, the contractor had been verified by a Geiger counter to be on board the truck before leaving the mine as being qualified to transport the device.

A portion of the road has been searched by authorities in an effort to find the tiny but extremely deadly and radioactive capsule.

Commonly found in radiation gauges, the caesium-137 ceramic source generates hazardous levels of radiation, or 10 X-rays in an hour.

Skin burns could result from the capsule, and long-term exposure could lead to cancer.

The capsule, according to officials, was a component of a gadget that is thought to have fallen off a truck earlier this month as it was being carried from a mine site in the desert to Perth.

More than two weeks after it had been moved from the mining site, the little Caesium-137 capsule was reported missing.

According to reports, the capsule’s transport landed at a Perth depot on January 16. On January 25, the emergency services were alerted to the capsule’s disappearance.

Due to a shortage of equipment, Western Australia emergency services have requested assistance from other Australian states and the federal government in locating the capsule. People have been advised that the 8 by 6 mm
(0.31 inch by 0.24 inch) pill may have unintentionally become stuck in their car tyres.

Two days after receiving word from Rio Tinto, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services in Western Australia said on Friday that the capsule had vanished.

The department of fire and emergency services said that a “radioactive substance risk” alert had been issued in a number of locations.

Police concluded that the occurrence was an accident, and no charges are expected to be filed.

Must Read: ‘Tiny but Lethal’ radioactive capsule mysteriously goes missing in Australia

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