_x000D_Image: West Australian Government

Was a nuclear capsule lost in Australia?

On Feb. 1, 2023, Australian authorities found the capsule containing a radioactive substance that was lost during transportation from north of Newman to the north-eastern suburbs of Perth and reported on Jan. 25, 2023. The round and silver capsule measuring 6mm in diameter and 8mm tall, was searched for along a 1,400km (870-mile) section of the Great Northern Highway in the Western Australian desert – a distance longer than the Californian coastline._x000D_19-GBq (a unit of radioactive decay) cesium-137 ceramic source used in radiation gauges. It emits beta and gamma radiation. An hour at a one-meter distance from the capsule is like getting 10 X-rays. The steel container prevents radioactive material from escaping, but contamination would be disastrous had it broken.