A radioactive capsule used in its Western Australia mining operations is missing and believed to have fallen off a truck.
A radioactive capsule used in Rio Tinto's Western Australia mining operations is missing and may have fallen onto a remote road up to two weeks ago.Authorities said the risk to the public was low but warned people to stay five meters from the device if spotted.
The silver-colored capsule is just 6 millimeters in diameter and 8 millimeters long and is thought to have been lost during a 1,400-kilometre drive through the remote Pilbara, Midwest Gascoyne, Goldfields-Midlands and Perth Metropolitan regions. When it was unpacked for inspection on Jan. 25, the gauge was found broken apart with four mounting bolts, all screws and the capsule missing.
He thanked the emergency services and Western Australian government for assisting with search operations and said the company launched an investigation into how the incident occurred.
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