Rio Tinto apologises for losing radioactive capsule as authorities scramble to find it | World News
Rio Tinto has apologized for the loss of the highly radioactive capsule in the Australian outback as authorities struggle to find it.
“We are taking this incident very seriously. We understand this is very disturbing and we apologize for the alarm it has caused in the Western Australian community,” said Simon Trott, Executive Director of Rio Tinto’s iron ore business.
“In addition to the full support of the relevant authorities, we have launched our own investigation to understand how the capsule was lost en route.”
The truck with the radioactive block was traveling from the Rio Tinto mine in Western Australia to a warehouse in Perth.
The mining giant and Australian authorities face the daunting task of finding tiny but potentially lethal block measuring 8mm by 6mmwhich is less than a penny.
The small silver cylinder contains caesium-137, a highly radioactive isotope that emits the equivalent of 10 x-rays per hour.
It fell from the back of a truck as it was hauled 870 miles (1,400 km) from a mine in Newman to a warehouse in the Perth suburb of Malaga on January 12 by a specialized contractor.
Rio Tinto said the contractor reported the missing capsule on January 25.
Dimensions of the missing capsule. Photo: Washington State Fire and Emergency Department.
Authorities suspect that vibrations from the truck caused the screws and bolt to loosen and the radioactive capsule from the sensor to fall out of the package and then out of a slot in the car.
Western Australia’s radiation warning remains in effect and authorities have ordered people to stay at least five meters (16.5 feet) apart as exposure can cause radiation burns or illness, though they add that the risk to society as a whole is relatively low.
State emergency services set up a hazard management team and brought in special equipment, including portable radiation detectors. The devices can detect radiation levels within a radius of 20 meters and be used in moving vehicles.
The entire 870-mile route will most likely have to be searched until the missing module is found.
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The investigation will look at the handling of the sensor and the capsule at the mine.
Mr. Trott said the mining corporation conducted a radiological survey of the Gooday-Darry mine where the device was located, as well as the access road.
The task, while similar to finding the proverbial needle in a haystack, “is not impossible” because the seekers are equipped with radiation detectors, said Andrew Stuchbury of the Department of Nuclear Physics and Accelerator Applications at the Australian National University.
“It’s like hanging a magnet over a haystack, it will give you a better chance,” he said.
“If the source happened to be in the middle of the road, you might get lucky… It is quite radioactive, so if you get close to it, it will stick out.”
