How difficult is it to find a missing carcinogenic radioactive capsule in Australia: It’s like finding a needle in a haystack
Cancer-causing radioactive capsules lost in Australia have yet to be found.
According to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on January 30, the Australian health department issued a warning last Friday (28th) that a tiny radioactive capsule was lost on a 1,400-kilometer road in Western Australia for more than two weeks. trace.
The radioactive capsule is 6 mm in diameter and 8 mm in height, which is barely visible to the naked eye.And the search range is as long as 1400 kilometers of roads, so the difficulty is tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack。
What’s even more frightening is that the capsule contains cesium-137, and its radiation dose is 2 millisieverts per hour, which is equivalent to receiving 10 X-ray inspections in one hour. Not only that, the capsule will emit beta rays and gamma rays, Leaving it around for a long time may cause skin damage, including burns,If left for long enough, it may affect the immune system and gastrointestinal system, and may even induce cancer！
So how did something so dangerous get lost? According to local media, the missing radioactive capsule was part of radiation measuring equipment,Typically used to detect radiation levels in fossil fuel processing plants such as oil and gas.
The capsule was accidentally lost during transportation on the 11th of this month. Western Australian government authorities believe that a cargo box of the truck was overturned, causing a bolt on the vehicle to be knocked off, and the radioactive capsule fell out of the bolt hole.
The good news is that due to its radioactivity, it will be relatively easy to search with professional equipment, and you don’t have to observe it with human eyes; but the bad news is that the search area is so large that even after two weeks, it still has no news.
What is even more worrying is that due to the small size,The capsule may have been stuck in the tire of a passing car and transported further afieldAs for where it fell, I am afraid that no one knows.
