An 8mm x 6mm capsule, that emits enough radiation that it is the equivalent of getting ~10 X-Rays per hour, "fell out of a truck" along a 1400km stretch of road in Western Oz.
Oops.
An 8mm x 6mm capsule, that emits enough radiation that it is the equivalent of getting ~10 X-Rays per hour, "fell out of a truck" along a 1400km stretch of road in Western Oz.
Oops.
That's a story I've never heard before - wild!
Dropped from a truck? Sounds like something you'd see in the beginning of a movie.....
in USSR poor health inherits you.
Cousin Vinny's Aussie cousin has been busy.
....An 8mm x 6mm capsule, that emits enough radiation that it is the equivalent of getting ~10 X-Rays per hour, "fell out of a truck" along a 1400km stretch of road in Western Oz...
I am very curious that they seem to imply the capsule was not contained in anything. It says in the story it's in a casing, yet when describing it, they show not the casing, but the capsule. Being incased in something will make it harder to find, otherwise, there some very easy ways to find radioactive things.
I guess they want people open up any casings they find and see if what is in it matches the description? Which of course would be supremely stupid.
Sometime news make us stupidier.
It was lost somewhere in one of the most desolate parts of Australia, not exactly dropped on a street corner in the middle of Sydney. It's probably only going to get found with a significant search unsing a radiation detector, which makes it sound like a great live fire exercise for the appropriate agencies :)
Janel used to use some sort of radiation tool to test asphalt density. I need to find out how they work.
Sounds like if someone were to retrace the route carrying a radiation detector would be relatively easy to track back down short of someone else picking it up and wandering off.
Keith Tanner said:It was lost somewhere in one of the most desolate parts of Australia, not exactly dropped on a street corner in the middle of Sydney.
Probably the one good part of this, however despite it being that desolate there are still a couple dozen little towns along the way.
Stuff sometimes does rattle loose freely on bad roads, its more common to move around when people are involved. That combined with humanity's distressing habit of loving and playing with rocks that kill you (the Ciuldad Cobalt-60, or the Demon Core come immediately to mind) means I don't think this will vanish into the wilds of Western Oz. Might be 30 years before we figure out where it went, but I don't think it is gone for good.
Oh great, because the wildlife in Australia isn't dangerous enough, let it get radioactive, that'll help things.
RevRico said:Oh great, because the wildlife in Australia isn't dangerous enough, let it get radioactive, that'll help things.
That's going to be one berkeleyed up superhero.
aircooled said:....An 8mm x 6mm capsule, that emits enough radiation that it is the equivalent of getting ~10 X-Rays per hour, "fell out of a truck" along a 1400km stretch of road in Western Oz...
I am very curious that they seem to imply the capsule was not contained in anything. It says in the story it's in a casing, yet when describing it, they show not the casing, but the capsule. Being incased in something will make it harder to find, otherwise, there some very easy ways to find radioactive things.
I guess they want people open up any casings they find and see if what is in it matches the description? Which of course would be supremely stupid.
Sometime news make us stupidier.
A little more insight from the source (also very poorly written, but since this is a quote from Western Australia's Emergency Management, it's kinda difficult to blame any news agency)
“
The capsule was packaged on 10 January 2023 to be sent to Perth for repair before leaving the site for transport by road between 11 and 14 January 2023.The package holding the capsule arrived in Perth on 16 January and was unloaded and stored in the licensed service provider’s secure radiation store. On 25 January, the gauge was unpacked for inspection. Upon opening the package, it was found that the gauge was broken apart with one of the four mounting bolts missing and the source itself and all screws on the gauge also missing. DFES as the Hazard Management Agency were notified on the evening of 25 January by WA Police."
.”
So it appears to me that the capsule (and some screws?) are all that is missing from the gauge that the capsule was in when it was packed up for transport.
I have a hard time giving the slightest care if a bit of nuclear material goes missing in the boonies of Aussieland. I'd be far more concerned about nuclear material in the Middle East or Russia.
1988RedT2 said:I have a hard time giving the slightest care if a bit of nuclear material goes missing in the boonies of Aussieland. I'd be far more concerned about nuclear material in the Middle East or Russia.
I get that, but the concern here is that radioactive stuff tends to get found and played with by curious hairless monkeys.
I hope the USA has a better system just in case something like this happens here ,
you would think some gauges showing base number radiation and if that changes , bells and whistles go off !
And I hope we have a satellite that can detect radiation just in case North Korea etc decides to move some ......
In reply to Mr_Asa :
I'm going to go out on a limb and surmise that Fentanyl is going to harm more curious hairless monkeys than will this little vial of fun. I'm just suggesting a bit of perspective, along with an appropriate amount of concern and news coverage.
californiamilleghia said:I hope the USA has a better system just in case something like this happens here ,
you would think some gauges showing base number radiation and if that changes , bells and whistles go off !
And I hope we have a satellite that can detect radiation just in case North Korea etc decides to move some ......
I don't know. The USA has lost nuclear weapons. *shrug*
Noddaz said:californiamilleghia said:I hope the USA has a better system just in case something like this happens here ,
you would think some gauges showing base number radiation and if that changes , bells and whistles go off !
And I hope we have a satellite that can detect radiation just in case North Korea etc decides to move some ......
I don't know. The USA has lost nuclear weapons. *shrug*
Was going to say the same. Looks like current count of lost and not recovered is 6.
https://www.atomicarchive.com/almanac/broken-arrows/index.html
This thing is small enough to get caught in a car's tire treads and get carried elsewhere 
Beer Baron said:RevRico said:Oh great, because the wildlife in Australia isn't dangerous enough, let it get radioactive, that'll help things.
That's going to be one berkeleyed up superhero.
New movie Godzilla in Australia
Looking forward to the radioactive poisonous snakes and spiders in Australia's future.
Are you guys sure this isn't the beginning of a new series of horror movies like Godzilla except with one of those weird animals that Australia has?
Similar but different accident back in the 80's in Brazil
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goi%C3%A2nia_accident
Have you heard the one about the radioactive rebar that got recycled into orthopedic prosthetics in Mexico?
"Look out, the plate is hot!"
californiamilleghia said:I hope the USA has a better system just in case something like this happens here ,
you would think some gauges showing base number radiation and if that changes , bells and whistles go off !
And I hope we have a satellite that can detect radiation just in case North Korea etc decides to move some ......
A disturbingly large part of our nuclear Arsenal still depends on people physically flying 5.25" floppies around the country.
johndej said:Sounds like if someone were to retrace the route carrying a radiation detector would be relatively easy to track back down short of someone else picking it up and wandering off.
The US has radiation detectors in aircraft sensitive and accurate enough to find a large DU round kept as a souvenir and people asking questions at your front door a few days later.
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