Australia deploys more experts, equipment to search for lost radioactive
capsule
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[January 31, 2023]
By Melanie Burton and Lewis Jackson
MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Australian authorities on Tuesday sent out more
personnel and specialised detection equipment to search for a tiny
radioactive capsule missing somewhere in the outback, including a team
from the country's nuclear safety agency.
The capsule is believed to have fallen from a road train - a truck with
multiple trailers - that made a 1,400 km (870 mile) journey in Western
Australia and its loss has triggered a radiation alert for large parts
of the vast state.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services said on Monday that it
would take five days to retrace the road train's route. On Tuesday, it
said that 660 km had been searched so far.
The hunt involves a slew of government agencies including the Department
of Defence, the police and now the Australian Radiation Protection and
Nuclear Safety Agency and the Australian Nuclear and Science Technology
Organisation.
The capsule was part of a gauge used to measure the density of iron ore
feed that had been entrusted by Rio Tinto Ltd to specialist contractor
SGS Australia for packaging and unpackaging. Transport was then
subcontracted out to logistics firm Centurion.
Authorities suspect vibrations from the road train caused the screws and
a bolt from the gauge to come loose, and then the capsule fell out. The
gauge was picked up from the mine site on Jan. 12 and was unpacked for
inspection on Jan. 25 when the loss of the capsule became evident.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jan/31/images/ads/current/rohlfs_quarter_LUAL_2022.png)
Centurion said in a statement that the capsule was dislodged from
equipment contained in a crate. The transport crate and pallet were
supplied by SGS, a Centurion spokesperson told Reuters by phone.
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![](../images/013123PIX/news_t8.jpg)
A member of the Incident Management Team
coordinates the search for a radioactive capsule that was lost in
transit by a contractor hired by Rio Tinto, at the Emergency
Services Complex in Cockburn, Australia, in this undated handout
photo. Department of Fire and Emergency Services/Handout via REUTERS
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jan/31/images/ads/current/werth_quarter_LUAL_2022.png)
SGS did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Rio has apologised for the loss.
The road train travelled from Rio's Gudai-Darri mine in the state's
remote Kimberley region to a storage facility in the suburbs of
Perth - a distance longer than the length of Great Britain.
Search crews are travelling north and south along the state's Great
Northern Highway as well as other sections of the road train's
journey with specialised radiation detection equipment.
"Today's delivery will further boost our search efforts and
complement the equipment we have been using since the search started
last Thursday," Darryl Ray, incident controller for the fire and
emergency services department, said in a statement.
"The equipment can detect radiation emitted by the missing capsule
and is currently being used around the Perth metropolitan area and
outskirts."
The silver capsule, 6 mm in diameter and 8 mm long, contains
Caesium-137 which emits radiation equal to 10 X-rays per hour.
People have been told to stay at least five metres (16.5 feet) away
if they spot it as exposure could cause radiation burns or radiation
sickness, though driving past the capsule is believed to be
relatively low risk, akin to taking an X-ray.
(Reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne and Lewis Jackson in
Sydney; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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