Rio Tinto apologises for losing radioactive capsule in Australia

BBC: Mining giant Rio Tinto has apologised for losing a tiny radioactive capsule that went missing as it was being transported across Western Australia.

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

The capsule contains a small quantity of radioactive Caesium-137, which could cause serious illness to anyone who comes into contact with it.

That could include skin damage, burns or radiation sickness. 
Emergency services are searching along for the device using radiation detectors and other specialised equipment.
But Australia’s Department for Fire and Emergency Services said the silver capsule - which is just 6mm (0.24 inches) in diameter and 8mm long - was so small it might have become lodged in the tyre of a vehicle passing along the road. It may have gone missing up to two weeks ago. Rio Tinto, which has big mining operations in Australia and has been the subject of a series of controversies in recent years, said it was sorry for the alarm that had been caused.

The firm would be launching its own investigation into what happened, it said in a statement.
The capsule, which was being transported by a subcontracted company, was picked up at Rio Tinto’s Gudai-Darri mine site, in the remote Kimberley region on January 12 and was being taken to a storage facility in the north-east suburbs of Perth. 

That is roughly equivalent to the distance between John O’Groats in Scotland to Land’s End in Cornwall. 
When it was unpacked for inspection on January 25 the gauge was found broken apart and the radioactive capsule was gone. One of four mounting bolts and screws were also missing.
The authorities said vibrations during transit may have caused the bolts to become loose, allowing the capsule to fall through gaps in the casing and truck.

“As part of this investigation we are working closely with the contractor to better understand what went wrong in this instance,” said Simon Trott, Chief Executive of Rio Tinto’s iron ore division.
The lost device is part of a density gauge which is commonly used in the mining industry. It was being used at the Gudai-Darri mine to measure the density of iron ore feed.

“Rio Tinto engaged a third-party contractor, with appropriate expertise and certification, to safely package the device in preparation for transport off-site ahead of receipt at their facility in Perth. Prior to the device leaving the site, a Geiger counter [a device to detect radioactivity] was used to confirm the presence of the capsule inside the package,” said Trott.

State officials have issued a radiation alert across a vast swathe of Western Australia as the search for the capsule continues.