The western end of Australia is dominated by a sweltering desert of ochre-colored soil and hearty shrubs, but there’s something new hiding in the outback: a radioactive capsule. Australian officials are frantically searching for the object, which was being transported between two mines when it went missing. They’re warning people in the region to steer clear of the object if they see it, as even brief exposure can be dangerous.
The capsule is tiny, just 6 x 8 mm in size. Inside the ceramic enclosure is a sample of cesium-137, a highly radioactive isotope that is used in mining equipment. Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) says the capsule was being moved from a mine near the town of Newman to one near Perth earlier this month. However, the capsule never made it, suggesting it fell off the truck somewhere on road.
Despite being so small, the capsule has a big radioactive footprint, according to DFES. The cesium-137 inside emits about 2 millisieverts per hour, which is the same dose as 10 medical X-rays or an entire year of normal background radiation at sea level. Officials say that holding the container even for a short time could cause radiation burns and increase the risk of severe illness.
03:32 PM – Chemical Spill in RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCE RISK in parts of the Pilbara, Midwest Gascoyne, Goldfields-Midlands and Perth Metropolitan regions: https://t.co/ZSEIQDbkiJ
— DFES (@dfes_wa) January 27, 2023
“Our concern is that someone will pick it up, not knowing what it is,” says Dr. Andrew Robertson, the state’s chief health officer. “They may think it is something interesting and keep it, or keep it in their room, keep it in their car, or give it to someone.” Luckily, this is a sparsely populated region, so it’s unlikely anyone will happen upon the radioactive source. However, these things have a way of getting around.
A similar radioactive capsule was lost in a Ukrainian quarry in the late 1970s. Authorities there gave up after a week of searching and went back to business as usual. The capsule eventually ended up in concrete that was used to construct an apartment building in the eastern city of Kramatorsk. From 1980 to 1989, the cesium-137 poisoned the residents of apartment 85. In all, four people died of leukemia, and 17 more received heavy doses of radiation before the object was found.
The route of the truck is known, so Australian officials are in the process of narrowing down the capsule’s possible resting place. Although, we’re talking about almost 700 miles (1,100 kilometers) of winding outback roads. In the meantime, DFES has released an image of the capsule (above) and is asking anyone who sees it to contact authorities immediately.
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