Rio Tinto Ltd yesterday apologized for the loss of a tiny radioactive capsule that has sparked a radiation alert across parts of the vast state of Western Australia.
The radioactive capsule, believed to have fallen from a truck, was part of a gauge used to measure the density of iron ore feed that had been entrusted to a specialist contractor to transport. The loss might have occurred up to two weeks ago.
Authorities are grappling with the daunting task of searching along the truck’s 1,400km journey from north of Newman — a small town in the remote Kimberley region — to a storage facility in the northeast suburbs of Perth — a distance longer than the length of Great Britain.
Photo: Reuters
The task, while akin to finding the proverbial needle in a haystack, is “not impossible” as searchers are equipped with radiation detectors, said Andrew Stuchbery, who runs the department of Nuclear Physics and Accelerator Applications at the Australian National University.
“That’s like if you dangled a magnet over a haystack, it’s going to give you more of a chance,” he said.
“If the source just happened to be lying in the middle of the road you might get lucky... It’s quite radioactive so if you get close to it, it will stick out,” he said.
The gauge was picked up from Rio’s Gudai-Darri mine site on Jan. 12. When it was unpacked for inspection on Wednesday last week, the gauge was found broken apart, with one of four mounting bolts missing and screws from the gauge also gone.
Authorities suspect vibrations from the truck caused the screws and the bolt to come loose, and the radioactive capsule from the gauge fell out of the package and then out of a gap in the truck.
“We are taking this incident very seriously. We recognize this is clearly very concerning and are sorry for the alarm it has caused in the Western Australian community,” Rio Tinto iron ore division head Simon Trott said in a statement.
The silver capsule, 6mm in diameter and 8mm-long, contains Caesium-137, which emits radiation equal to 10 X-rays per hour.
Authorities have recommended people stay at least 5m away, as exposure could cause radiation burns or radiation sickness, but they said the risk to the general community is relatively low.
“From what I have read, if you drive past it, the risk is equivalent to an X-ray. But if you stand next to it or you handle it, it could be very dangerous,” Stuchbery said.
The Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services has established a hazard management team, and has brought in specialized equipment that includes portable radiation survey meters to detect radiation levels across a 20m radius and can be used from moving vehicles.
Rio had used a third-party contractor, with appropriate expertise and certification, to safely package and transport the gauge, Trott said.
“We have completed radiological surveys of all areas on site where the device had been, and surveyed roads within the mine site as well as the access road leading away from the Gudai-Darri mine site,” he said, adding that Rio was also conducting an investigation into how the loss occurred.
Analysts said that the transport of dangerous goods to and from mine sites was routine, adding that such incidents have been extremely rare and did not reflect poor safety standards on Rio’s part.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese