11/11/2023 0 Comments Caesium 137He referenced the IAEA's Safety Guide RS-G-1.9, Categorization of Radioactive Sources, which includes Table 2 in Appendix 1 that lists Categories of Sources used in common applications. To put the capsule's risk into perspective, Miller said that the 19-GBq activity associated with it would be similar to a low dose Cs-137 brachytherapy source. The search: DFES and radiation specialists searched along Great Northern Highway by driving in the north and south directions at slow speeds while using gamma radiation survey meters in order to find the capsule.ĭuring the search, DFES said the risk to the general community from the capsule, reported to be a 19-GBq (500-mCi) Cs-137 ceramic source commonly used in industrial gauges, was relatively low but recommended that anyone finding the capsule stay 5 meters away.Įducated input: Lacking further information from Rio Tinto at the time, the assumption was that the capsule was part of a conveyor gauge, a device mounted adjacent to a conveyor belt that was moving ore, according to ANS member John Miller, of the International Source Suppliers and Producers Association. DFES said they were notified of the loss on the evening of January 25.Īccording to a report by The New York Times, police believed the loss of the source was an accident, and there was no evidence that the box was tampered with after arriving in Perth. It is assumed that vibrations from the truck broke the gauge apart and allowed the screws and capsule to fall through the bolt hole and away from the truck. The source itself and all screws on the gauge were also missing. Upon opening the package, it was found that the gauge was broken apart with one of four mounting bolts missing. The package containing the gauge, however, was not inspected until January 25. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) of Western Australia reported that the density gauge containing a 6-mm-diameter (0.24-inch-diameter) by 8-mm-height (0.31-inch-height) source capsule was sent by flatbed truck to Perth for repair, leaving Rio Tinto’s Gudai-Darri mine site in Western Australia on January 12 and arriving in Perth on January 16.
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