Measuring just 8 by 6 millimetres, it contains enough cesium-137 to make a human very ill or even killed: it is the small radioactive capsule lost from a lorry traveling along a remote road in western Australia.
An accident that occurred a few weeks ago for which the mining giant Rio Tinto, which has contracted the transport to a certified external company, has presented its apologies.
The vehicle had left from a mine near the town of Newman, 1,400 km north of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia.
"We realize this is a matter of concern, and we apologize for the alarm it has caused in the Western Australian community. We have launched our own investigation to understand how the capsule got lost," wrote the director of Rio Tinto for the iron mines Simon Trott.
The capsule is part of a mechanism used in mining to measure the density of iron ore.
According to the authorities, people must stay at least 5 meters from the capsule, which emits beta and gamma rays with a level of radiation equivalent to that affecting a person who undergoes 10 x-rays every hour.
State health chief Andrew Robertson said authorities were only notified on Friday.
The container he was in fell due to the vibrations of the vehicle, he added.
The capsule would have fallen through the hole left by a bolt, also lost.
The meter was originally picked up on Jan. 12 from the Gudai-Darri iron ore mine near Newman and delivered to the Perth suburb of Malaga on Jan. 16, Rio Tinto said.
But the package wasn't opened until January 25 when the tool was found "broken" with the radioactive capsule missing.
The same day the State Police was informed.
Technicians are searching for the capsule along the road where it allegedly fell, using Geiger counters.
