This article is from: Liu Rui
[P] of Cailian News Agency. Cailian News Agency, January 30 (Editor Liu Rui) A capsule that is only 8 mm long and 6 mm wide has recently attracted the attention of the people across Australia.Recently, a contractor employed by Rio Tinto, a mining giant, lost a highly radioactive capsule during transportation in Western Australia, triggering a radiation alarm in some parts of the state.
The Australian government said that the radioactive capsule contained a small amount of radioactive isotope cesium-137, and its radiation level was equivalent to taking 10 X-ray films in an hour. The local emergency department has sent a number of teams to search the transportation route and has applied to the Australian Federal Government for help.
Rio Tinto lost a highly radioactive capsule
[P] in Australia. According to Rio Tinto, the capsule was owned by Rio Tinto and was originally used for mining, but was lost during the transportation of the capsule by a third party contractor from northern Newman, Australia (a small town in the remote Kimberley region) to the northeast suburb of Perth.The whole distance of this transportation route is 1200 kilometers. At present, Australian police are fully searching for this small silver capsule, which is only 8 mm long, on the transportation route. Its search difficulty is similar to looking for a needle in a haystack.
The Australian government also suggested that people keep at least 5 meters away from it.
Although the Australian government reassured the public that the radiation capsule could not be converted into a radioactive weapon. However, some people are worried that since the small capsule may fall on the road, it may be stuck in the tire gap of other large trucks, and thus be taken to a farther place.
On Monday local time, Simon Trott, head of the iron ore department of Rio Tinto Group, a mining giant, issued an apology statement on the matter:
He said: "Rio Tinto has hired a third-party contractor with appropriate professional knowledge and certification to safely package the equipment for off-site transportation." He added that Rio Tinto was also investigating the cause of the loss.Trott also claimed: "We have completed the radiological survey of all areas where the device is located, and also investigated the roads in the mining area and the access to Gudai-Darri mining area."
The capsule has been missing for more than half a month According to reports, the capsule was found missing nearly two weeks after it left Rio Tinto's Gudai-Darri mining area.Rio Tinto said that the radioactive capsule was collected from the mine by a transportation contractor on January 12 and was expected to arrive at a radiation storage facility in Perth on January 16. But on January 25, when the container was opened for inspection, Rio Tinto found that it was missing.
The Western Australian government said that when inspecting the package containing the device, it was found that the package "had broken, one of the four mounting bolts was missing, and all the screws on the pressure gauge were missing."
This incident may have an impact on Rio Tinto's business in Australia. Previously, Rio Tinto destroyed a site of sacred significance to Australian aborigines in 2020 due to its iron ore expansion plan, triggering strong protests from local residents.