Skip to main content

Aussie authorities still searching for tiny radioactive capsule

Talk about searching for a needle in a haystack. Australian authorities are currently looking for a tiny radioactive capsule that they believe fell from a truck during a recent journey from a desert mine to a storage facility in the city of Perth.

The problem is that the capsule is just 6 millimeters in diameter and 8 millimeters tall, while the road being searched runs for 870 miles. That’s the distance between Los Angeles and Portland, or, to put it another way, the entire length of Great Britain. According to Google Maps, the route takes more than 12 hours to drive. Walking it, which is probably the pace you’d want to go at if you’re looking for something this small, would take around 233 hours.

Related Videos
The size of a capsule that went missing in Western Australia.
Government of Western Australia

The capsule is a component commonly used within gauges in mining work. It was being transported securely inside a truck, but officials at mining firm Rio Tinto Iron Ore believe vibrations from the vehicle may have loosened screws that were holding it in. After that, it’s thought the capsule fell through a hole in the truck and onto the road.

Although the incident is believed to have taken place on January 10, the emergency services were only notified last Wednesday, while the public finally got to hear about it on Friday.

Anyone who comes across the capsule is being warned to stay at least 16 feet clear of it. Contact could result in skin damage, burns, and radiation sickness, including adverse effects on the immune system, the authorities said, while long-term exposure could cause cancer.

“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 chief executive Simon Trott said in a statement. “As well as fully supporting the relevant authorities, we have launched our own investigation to understand how the capsule was lost in transit.”

There’s concern that the capsule may have gotten lodged in a car tire and been transported far from the route currently being searched.

Commenting on the painstaking efforts to track down the capsule, local police superintendent Darryl Ray said: “What we’re not doing is trying to find a tiny little device by eyesight. We’re using the radiation detectors to locate the gamma rays.”

Editors' Recommendations

Airbnb to test ‘anti-party tech’ to stop disruptive events
Airbnb app

As part of ongoing efforts to prevent its listed properties from being booked for raucous blowouts, accommodation site Airbnb on Tuesday announced that it’s piloting new “anti-party technology” designed to automatically flag high-risk reservations.

The pilot comes three years after five people died in a shooting during a house party at an Airbnb property in California. The tragedy dented Airbnb’s reputation, as critics lambasted the company for allowing its properties to be used for large unauthorized events that were at risk of getting out of control.

Read more
Meet the startup that gives wheelchairs aftermarket superpowers
Luci autonomous wheelchair on orange backdrop

As a technology that's been around for decades, powered wheelchairs aren't exactly a hotbed of innovation. Aside from some basic improvements in power and battery life, they've largely remained the same for the past few years.

But that's not to say nobody's pushing the envelope in this space. A couple years ago at at CES, Digital Trends got an early look at LUCI, an innovative startup that's aiming to give all the world's wheelchairs a technological upgrade, retrofitting them with aftermarket abilities like obstacle avoidance, drop-off detection, 360-degree sensor vision, and smart assistant integrations. In 2021, the company had just barely launched and was still getting off the ground, but here in 2022, it's really starting to make waves -- so we caught up with founders Barry and Jered Dean to hear about the company's journey so far -- and also what's coming next.

Read more
Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class takes a subtle approach to tech
2023 mercedes benz glc class preview

Mercedes-Benz isn’t afraid of bold design, but not every luxury car shopper wants a vehicle that looks like a spaceship. Some Mercedes models are meant to be trendsetters, but the GLC-Class SUV is aimed at people who don’t need to be early adopters.

The GLC is a small SUV of the type that’s become the default for many buyers. So while the redesigned 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class gets notable features like a redesigned infotainment system, “transparent hood” camera system, and mild-hybrid powertrain, it’s all packaged in a way that looks familiar.

Read more