Australian authorities on Wednesday finally located the radioactive capsule that went missing in the vast state of Western Australia last week, sparking a massive 1,400-kilometer search, according to the state’s Emergency Minister Stephen Dawson.
According to Stephen Dawson, the capsule was located about 50 kilometers south of the city of Newman using specialized radiation detection equipment. “I want to emphasize that this is an excellent result,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon (local time).
The missing caesium-137 capsule, only 6 mm in diameter and 8 mm long, was issued an urgent public warning on January 25 when it apparently fell from a truck carrying it from a mine in Perth.
The device was reportedly delivered by a subcontractor, who picked it up from the mine on Jan. 12 to be transported to a warehouse in Perth’s northeastern suburbs. When it was unpacked for inspection on January 25, the device was dismantled and the radioactive capsule was missing. One of the four mounting bolts and screws was also missing.
She was reported missing between January 11 and 16, but her disappearance was not discovered until a week later.
Source: Reuters, ABC News.
Source: Kathimerini
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