Missing radioactive capsule found in Western Australia

Emergency teams in Western Australia have successfully located a tiny radioactive capsule that fell off a truck last month, officials said on Wednesday.

Workers from the radiation safety authority, the fire brigade and other agencies found the hazardous capsule south of the mining town of Newman after a search stretching across hundreds of kilometres in Australia's sparsely populated outback.

"I do want to emphasize this is an extraordinary result," Western Australia's Minister for Emergency Services Stephen Dawson said. "The search crews have literally found the needle in the haystack."

Measuring about 6 millimetres in diameter and 8 millimetres tall, the capsule containing highly radioactive caesium-137 went missing while being transported from an iron-ore mine north of Newman to a depot near the city of Perth.

The incident occurred sometime after January 12. The loss of the mining-purposed capsule was only noticed on January 25 when the truck was unloaded.

It was feared that it might have become lodged in the tread of a passing vehicle on Australia's Great Northern Highway. However, it was recovered 2 metres off the road near Newman.

A special detector on a search vehicle had indicated the radiation, fire service spokesman Darren Klemm said, according to Australia's ABC news.

The capsule was secured in a lead container and was to be stored overnight in a safe location in Newman. On Thursday, it will be transported to a Ministry of Health facility to be examined for any damage.

The British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has apologized for the incident. The company, which operates the Gudai Darri mine where the capsule was loaded for transport, said it had contracted a third party with appropriate expertise and certification to safely package the capsule.

It is believed that a bolt in the container vibrated loose during the truck journey and the mini-sleeve fell through the bolt hole. It is considered unlikely that legal action will be taken. However, the government in Western Australia is trying to clarify how the expensive and time-consuming search will be paid for.

For days, the authorities had repeatedly asked people to keep at least 5 metres away should they discover the silver casing. The radiation could have caused burns to the skin and cancer with prolonged exposure.