Search is on for radioactive capsule lost in the Australian Outback

Fire truck searching road in Australia.
(Image credit: Department of Fire and Emergency Services via AP)

Australian mining corporation Rio Tinto lost a minuscule radioactive capsule, prompting a widescale search across Western Australia. The capsule, just 8 millimeters by 6 millimeters, is believed to have fallen off a truck somewhere in a 900-mile stretch in the Australian Outback, writes The Wall Street Journal. The truck left the company's desert mine on Jan 12. and the capsule was reported missing on Jan. 25.

"It's believed the container it was in at the time collapsed as a result of vibrations during the trip and unfortunately that included the loss of a bolt that was holding it on and it fell through that bolt hole," said Andrew Robertson, Western Australia's chief health officer.

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Devika Rao, The Week US

 Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.