5/17/2023 0 Comments 137 kilometre![]() ![]() Caesium-137 is the most common radioactive form of caesium. Department of Fire and Emergency Services handout via ReutersĬaesium is a soft, flexible, silvery-white metal that becomes liquid near room temperature, but easily bonds with chlorides to create a crystalline powder. Members of the Incident Management Team coordinate 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. The widget contains a small quantity of Caesium-137, a radioactive isotope that can cause damage to anyone who touches it. Standing within a metre of the capsule is the equivalent of receiving 10 X-rays in an hour, health authorities have warned. Its radioactive material emits both gamma and beta rays and has a half-life of 30 years. The capsule is part of a gauge used to measure the density of iron ore feed. The Western Australian government said when the package holding the device was inspected, it was found to have been “broken apart with one of the four mounting bolts missing and the source itself and all screws on the gauge also missing”, reports Bloomberg. It was only when the container was opened for inspection on 25 January that it was discovered that the capsule was missing. The solid, silver-coloured cylinder, which is smaller than a human fingernail, fell off a truck along the highway that passes through the Western Australian desert.Īccording to Rio Tinto, the widget was collected from a mine on 12 January by a transport conductor and was scheduled to arrive at a radiation storage facility in Perth on 16 January.
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