Australia's nuclear safety agency joins the hunt for missing radioactive capsule

Australia's nuclear safety agency, on Tuesday, announced that it was joining the hunt for the small radioactive capsule, which a few days ago went missing in the west of the country.

In a statement, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) said it would work in conjunction with the Western Australia government to locate the capsule.

Watch |Radioactive capsule lost in Western Australia along 1,400 km route, authorities issue health warning

The capsule which contains Caesium-137, a radioactive material used in mining, as per Reuters, could have gone missing around two weeks ago.

It was reportedly part of a gauge that is used to measure iron ore feed density and had been entrusted to a specialist contractor for transportation.

Searching for the lost radioactive material is daunting because the small capsule was lost somewhere along the 1,400-kilometre-long path the truck took.

Finding it along the long path from north of Newman - a small town in the remote Kimberley region - to a storage facility in the northeast suburbs of Perth - a distance longer than the length of Great Britain is nothing short of 'finding a needle in a haystack'.

Authorities have warned that people should not come in contact with the capsule.

The public was first alerted about the missing radioactive material on Friday. Announcing it, Western Australia's chief health officer Andrew Robertson had warned, "if you have it long enough near you, it could cause what is known as acute radiation sickness."

Experts have recommended that people should stay at least five metres away from the capsule, which, on an hourly basis, emits beta and gamma rays that have radiation levels equal to about 10 X-Rays.

(With inputs from agencies)

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