No radioactive contamination where missing capsule was found

The 20m ‘hot zone’ around where a missing radioactive capsule was found has shown no signs of residual contamination.

The radioactive capsule at the centre of a near week-long search along a 1200km stretch of country road did not contaminate the area where it was found.

The capsule was found on Wednesday morning just off Great Northern Highway, about 74km south of the mining town of Newman.

It’s believed the capsule fell off a semi-trailer as it was being transported to Perth earlier in January.

The location of the capsule would indicate it wasn’t far into its journey from Rio Tinto’s Gudai-Darri mine site north of Newman to the Perth northern suburb of Malaga.

The Australian Defence Force, along with experts from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, set up a 20m “hot zone” around the capsule.

“No need to remediate the area.” — DFES gives capsule ‘hot zone’ the all-clear. Picture: Supplied.

Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services said subsequent testing at the site has revealed no residual contamination from the capsule, and “there was no need to remediate the area.”

The capsule itself, which is small enough to fit on a 10c coin, was placed in a lead-lined case for transport to Perth on Thursday as investigations into how it became lost continue.

The capsule, containing radioactive material Caesium-137, was used in mining gauges to measure the density of iron ore.

Here's the #radioactive#capsule in question, which was found 74kms south of Newman at 11am today. The capsule has a serial number, which has been used to verify that this is indeed the object that has been the focus of our search for the past week. https://t.co/fsCW0H88rW#WApic.twitter.com/AkB78jqic8

— DFES (@dfes_wa) February 1, 2023

It’s speculated the vibration of the semi-trailer used to transport the gauge somehow knocked the capsule loose.

The exact manner in which it fell from the truck will form part of a WA government investigation.

In a statement on Wednesday, Rio Tinto said it was conducting its own investigation into the incident, and has expressed its gratitude to all the agencies involved in the six day search.