Radioactive capsule lost, then found near Newman in remote Western Australia

A tiny but dangerous radioactive Caesium-13 capsule was lost in WA last week; the 8mm by 6mm capsule was dislodged from a density gauge and then fell off the back of the truck on the way from a Rio Tinto mine to Perth. When the truck arrived in Perth, the absence of the radioactive capsule was noticed and the alarm was raised.

It was found on Tuesday.

It was a very big story in Western Australia. More below.

The capsule was found by the side of the road near the town of Newman on Tuesday in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Emergency services searched a 1400 kilometre route, despite warnings that the capsule could cause radiation burns if it was touched, and that prolonged exposure could cause radiation sickness.

Emergency services equipped with specialised portable radiation equipment safely recovered the capsule at 11am. It was 2 metres from the road. They were travelling along at 70 kilometres an hour when their equipment detected the capsule and so they went back to investigate.

The capsule was transported in a lead container back to Newman to be stored overnight, from where it was to be taken to a WA health facility in Perth on Thursday.

Darren Klemm, the Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner of WA, said, “We have essentially found the needle in the haystack. 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.”