Radioactive Capsule Lost By Rio Tinto Mining Company In Australia - Texas Today

Rio Tinto, a big mining company, has apologized for losing a small radioactive capsule while moving it across Western Australia.

An emergency search is happening along the 1,400km (870 miles) route for the device, which is about the size of a pea.

The capsule has a small amount of Caesium-137, which is radioactive and could make people very sick if they touch it.

This could mean skin damage, burns, or radiation sickness.

Radiation detectors and other specialized tools are being used by emergency services to look for the device, and they say it’s “pretty likely” that they will find it.

But Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services said the silver capsule, which is only 6mm (0.24 inches) in diameter and 8mm long, was so small that it might have gotten stuck in the tire of a car driving down the road.

There is also concern that someone might keep it as a souvenir if they find it.

The government says very clearly that holding the capsule could cause burns from the radiation and that long-term exposure could cause cancer.

The capsule could have been lost as recently as two weeks ago.

Rio Tinto, which has a lot of mining operations in Australia and has had many problems in the past few years, said it was sorry for the worry it had caused…Read more

Source — Texas Today