A tiny capsule shakes all of Australia.
Lost in nature, after having been used during mining operations, it contains cesium 137, a dangerous radioactive substance.
“This substance is used in mines or public works to calculate the density of a material,” explains Yann Billarand, Deputy Director of Health at the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN).
This Tic-Tac-sized capsule has been missing since mid-January.
It is believed to have fallen from a lorry as it was being transported to a storage location between the remote town of Newman and the northern suburbs of Perth, a distance of around 1,400km.
"In the case of Australia, it could be dangerous if the source came out of its protection and people touch it or put it in their pocket," warned Yann Billarand.
Cesium 137 is one of the main sources of radioactive contamination during nuclear reactor accidents, the best known of which are those at Chernobyl (Ukraine) in 1986 and Fukushima (Japan) in 2011.