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Radioactive capsule lost in Australia, it's tiny but potentially lethal

We are in Australia. Mining giant Rio Tonto has misplaced a radioactive capsule in an undefined location 1,400 kilometers en route between Perth and its headquarters Gudai-Darri mine.

A full-scale hunt is under way these hours to find the capsule, only a few millimeters in size, lost in the middle of the Western Australian desert. The company Rio Tonto, already in the midst of controversy for digging, in its homeland, at a site considered sacred, said it was simply "sorry," without releasing further comment.

The capsule contains a small amount of Cesio-137 radioactive, which could cause serious illness to anyone who comes in contact with it.

photo DFES
The company Rio Tinto lost a radioactive capsule
A real treasure hunt is under way in Australia to find the small radioactive capsule lost by the mining company Rio Tinto. The small object contains a quantity of Cesio-137, a byproduct of uranium nuclear fission, and was lost in a 1,400-kilometer desert drive.
photo DFES
What was lost
The Government of Western Australia's Defs (Department of Fire & Emergency Services), has published a diagram of the lost object. A small cylinder measuring 6x8mm, smaller than a 10-cent coin.
Getty Images
All authorities involved in research
BBC, which has delved into the matter, speaks of a true state of emergency. Researchers are searching for the device using radiation detectors and other specialized equipment and say the chances of finding the small device are "pretty good," although the task is a daunting one.
photo DFES
What  do the authorities fear
As the BBC reports, Australian authorities are very concerned. This is because the cylinder could have gotten stuck in the wheels of a vehicle, or, it could have been picked up by a passerby as "souvenir". The capsule is highly dangerous to humans because it contains precisely a small amount of radioactive Cesium-137 that could cause serious consequences to anyone it comes in contact with, such as burns or radiation sickness.
photo DFES
The journey of the object
In this view taken from Google Maps, you can see the convoy's route from Perth to the mining site at Rio Tinto Nudai-Derri. It is in fact 1,320 km, most of the time in the middle of the Western Australian desert. The drive appears to be over 14 hours, and thus the area to be scoured is incredibly large.
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