The emergency services of Western Australia, the largest state in the oceanic country, held this Saturday a intense search to locate a toxic capsule lost during its transfer to the regional capital, Perthwhich led to the issuance of an alert of “risk of radioactive substance“.
The tiny capsule, 6 millimeters in diameter and 8 millimeters high, contains a “small amount” of the radioactive substance Cesium-137, used in mining, and “disappeared during transport between a mine” north of the town of Newman and north-east of Perth between January 10 and 16, the Western Australia Department of Health explained in a note published on Friday.
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Therefore, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services issued an alert to residents of various areas of Australia’s largest state and warned of the risks of exposure to this toxic substance, which include “radiation burns or radiation sickness“like cancer.
The Australian Government asked its citizens to stay at least five meters away, not touch it, not keep it in bags or backpacks and not take it to their vehicles.
“The capsule is small (6mm in diameter and 8mm high), round and silver. The risk to the general community is relatively low, however it is important to be aware of the risks and know what to do if you see the capsule. “Says the alert.
The agency warned that, in case of sighting any suspicious material, people should keep at least five meters away, not touch it, not keep it in bags or backpacks and not take it to their carsbut immediately report it to the authorities.
The teams working in the search for the radioactive capsule do not know, for the moment, the exact point where the device was lost, since the town of Newman is located about 1,400 kilometers away from the northeast of Perth, the final destination of the truck that I was transporting it.
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The toxic material was packaged on January 10 and the vehicle arrived in Perth six days later, but it was not until the 25th that cargo inspectors realized that one of the packages was torn and one of those tiny capsules had been lost on the waycompleted the entity.
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*With information from EFE
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