The emergency services announced that it was “literally found the needle in the haystack”
The Australian authorities say they have found the tiny radioactive capsule lost last week in Western Australia. The emergency services made it known according to which it was “literally found the needle in the haystack”. A huge search was sparked when the object was lost by Rio Tinto, one of the largest mining companies in the world, while being transported along a 1,400km route. The capsule – which has a diameter of 6 millimeters and a length of 8 – contains a small amount of cesium-137, which can cause skin damage, burns or radiation sickness.
The Australian emergency services have found the capsule, using a special vehicle which detected the presence of radiation about 2 meters from the side of the road it was traveling on and tomorrow it will be taken to a secure facility in Perth. Exposure to trace amounts of caesium-137 is equivalent to “receiving 10 x-rays in an hour, the amount of natural radiation we would get in a year just by walking,” said Western Australian health services chief Andrew Robertson.
Source-www.adnkronos.com