Radioactive Capsule Discovered In Australia After Search

Australian authorities Announcement Wednesday saw the discovery of a radioactive piece that had been lost.

“Locating this object was a monumental challenge – the search groups have quite literally found the needle in the haystack,” state Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson A press conference was held on Wednesday.

Six days before discovery, the capsule had vanished. It contained radioactive material Caesium137. The capsule was not found in a package that had been sent from a northern Western Australian mining location. The capsule could cause serious skin damage and even burns, so people were warned not to touch it.

Officials thought that the capsule was dropped from a truck with several trailers, also known as a roadtrain, while it was in transit. It is around 8 millimeters high and 6 millimeters around — which is as Small As a pea.

The capsule was located with special tools designed to detect radiation — and was ultimately found around six-and-a-half feet from the edge of the street.

As Australian officials, specialized groups began a huge search for the item. Sent The capsule is also available for purchase by additional individuals.

Monday will see the Department of Fire and Emergency Services tracing over the road train’s path would take five days. It reported that 1,400 kilometers of the route had been mapped out.

Searches included other government agencies, including the Department of Defence and law enforcement. The Australian Nuclear and Science Technology Organisation also participated in the search.

“We have essentially found the needle in the haystack,” Darren Klemm AFSM, Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner In a statement “When you consider the challenge of finding an object smaller than a 10-cent coin along a 1400-kilometre stretch of Great Northern Highway, it is a tremendous result. I want to thank everyone involved in the search — we called on a large number of agencies to assist and this was a great example of working together to achieve an outstanding result.”

Western Australia’s Chief Health Officer and Chair of the Radiological Council Dr. Andrew Robertson said the likelihood of someone being harmed by the device was low.

“As I have mentioned previously, to be at risk of radiation exposure you need to be close to the source for a period of time,” Dr. Robertson spoke. “If you were one metre away from the source for one hour, that would be the equivalent of receiving the radiation dose of 10 X-rays.”

Robertson The capsule likely did not pollute dirt around it.

“It’s encased in stainless steel, so it’s unlikely that, unless there’s been substantial damage to the actual source itself, which is unlikely from a fall from the back of a truck, that there will be any contamination in the area,” He stated.

He is currently investigating the cause of its disappearance and will provide a report.

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