Posted on 01/27/2023 9:41:42 AM PST by Right Wing Vegan
Authorities in Western Australia have warned the general population that a radioactive capsule used as a gauge in a mining operation has been lost on a stretch of road that is about 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) long. The risk to the population is considered minimal, but people need to be warned of what to do in case they see it.
The gauge is tiny. It’s 8 millimeters by 6 millimeters (0.31 inches by 0.24 inches), roughly like two hearing aid batteries stuck together. It was being taken from the town of Newman to the Northeastern suburbs of Perth. Exposure to it for a long time could cause radiation burns or radiation sickness, and if anyone finds it they should immediately alert the authorities. A concern is that the small capsule could have got stuck to a car's wheel.
The capsule was being taken to Perth for repair on January 10, and it arrived there on January 16 and was placed in a secure radiation store. The packaging was then opened on January 25, and it was then that it was discovered that the package had broken; one bolt was missing, and the capsule and all its screws likely dropped out of that hole and were potentially lost on the road between Newman and Perth.
Nuclear densitometry is not used just for mining, but also in archaeology and civil construction. It is unclear which radioactive element was used in this gauge. The Western Australian government's advice on these items mentions cobalt-60 and caesium-137. The isotope radium-226 is also used for this purpose, as it can be used up to 300-meter (984-foot) depths. Radium-226 emits mostly alpha particles, but its decay products can emit also beta particles and gamma rays. While dangerous, none of these elements can be weaponized.
Eaten by a croc?
Look for 50-foot glowing kangaroos.
Lolz
Perhaps a picture rather than “looks like 2 hearing aid batteries stuck together” would be better for anyone coming across it.
Hope they manage to find it.
Yeah, the package “broke.” Alrighty then.
So, they've never heard of a dirty bomb.
I used to work with large amounts of these isotopes and I used to think about how someone would remove some of these things without anyone noticing, and how to deploy them. I don't like to mention them for obvious reasons.
Depends o. How you define weaponize. This is like a radiography source. Hide it somewhere with a lot of people and you’d expose them to a lethal dose in short order.
I’d like to see the package. That’s a lot of things to go wrong by accident, all at once.
Lowest bidder?
How does one lose a radioactive anything?
Where I used to work, we had a small radioactive pellet, used for calibration of test equipment, that was smaller than the one in the story.
It was housed, when not in use in a small lead lined box, which fit inside a larger foam and lead lined box, painted bright yellow and red cautions all sides with the customary logo, which was stored in a locked cabinet, in a locked room, and we had to submit reports every six months as to it’s location and safety practices.......................
Sounds like the equivalent of one large grain of corn.
That sounds wonky!! The whole story is not being reported. Was it verified that the radioactive source was even in the nuclear gauge at the start of the trip?
An inspection company I work with has those for testing concrete samples from construction sites. Their office gives me the creeps with all the three fingered cyclopses running around.
Ask the Air Force. They lost a couple of nuclear bombs.
Now they’ll really be down under.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.