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A dangerous radioactive capsule was missing for two weeks before anyone noticed, authorities have admitted.
An investigation has been launched to determine how the tiny but potentially lethal capsule was lost while being transported from a Rio Tinto mine in Western Australia to Perth.
The 8 by 6mm unit is believed to have fallen from the back of a truck on its 1,400km journey from Newman to a depot in the Perth suburb of Malaga between 10 and 16 January.
However, in a disturbing twist on Friday, Fire and Emergency Services Department Superintendent Darryl Ray admitted that no one had noticed the pod was missing for more than two weeks.
Rio Tinto said it hired a radioactive material handler to pack the capsule for “safe” transport to the depot and was not reported missing until Wednesday.
The urgent search continues for an eight-by-six-millimeter radioactive capsule believed to have fallen from the back of a mining truck sometime between January 10 and 16 (pictured, authorities are searching for the missing unit)
WA authorities said the capsule (left) is similar to the size of an Australian dime (right)
Authorities are using the truck’s GPS data to determine the exact route the driver took and where he stopped after leaving the mine around January 10.
But there are concerns that the solid capsule has already become lodged in the tire of another vehicle and is potentially hundreds of kilometers from the search area.
It is believed that a screw came loose within the large lead lined gauge in which it was contained and the unit fell through a hole left by the missing fastener.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has deployed teams with portable radiation detection devices and metal detectors along 36 km of the busy freight route.
Superintendent Ray said they were concentrating on populated areas north of Perth and strategic sites along the Great Northern Highway.
“What we’re not doing is trying to find a small device with the naked eye,” he told reporters on Saturday.
We’re using the radiation detectors to locate the gamma rays.
Emergency services say their efforts to find the capsule are hampered by a lack of equipment and have called on the Commonwealth and other states to provide more, including units that can be fitted to a vehicle.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has deployed teams with portable radiation detection devices (above) and metal detectors along part of the truck’s route.
Authorities warned that contact with the capsule could lead to skin damage, burns and radiation sickness, including impacts on the immune and gastrointestinal systems (in the photo, authorities searching for the capsule)
Health Director Andrew Robertson defended the WA government’s decision to wait two days to inform the public on Friday, saying the mine and deposit had to be searched and debarred, and the route had been confirmed.
He said the capsule was packed in accordance with radiation safety standards and transport in a box bolted to a pallet.
“We think that the vibration from the truck may have affected the integrity of the indicator, that it fell apart and the source actually came out of it,” he said.
“It’s unusual for an indicator to break like this.”
An investigation will look into the handling of the meter and capsule at the mine site, the transport route used and procedures at the Perth depot after its arrival on January 16.
It is believed that a screw came loose inside the large lead-lined gauge containing the radioactive capsule and the unit fell through a hole left by the missing fastener (pictured searching for radioactive 10-cent capsule)
Superintendent Darryl Ray admitted the pod was missing for two weeks before authorities were notified (pictured, pod search)
Police have determined that the incident was an accident and criminal charges are not likely to be filed.
Authorities also ruled out theft from the warehouse before the box was opened Wednesday, saying there was tamper-evident tape on the box.
The small silver cylinder is a 19-becquerel cesium-137 ceramic source commonly used in radiation meters.
Dr Robertson previously said that the unit emits the equivalent of having 10 X-rays in an hour and that members of the public should keep at least five meters away.
Contact could cause skin damage, burns, and radiation sickness, including impacts on the immune and gastrointestinal systems.
Long-term exposure could also cause cancer, however experts say the capsule cannot be used as a weapon.
“Our concern is that someone will pick it up, not knowing what it is, think it’s something interesting (and) keep it,” Dr. Robertson said.