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The Australian authorities say they have recovered the missing radioactive capsule after almost a week of searching like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Australian officials recovered the missing radioactive capsule in the Outback on Wednesday, after almost a week of searching along a 1,400 km. (870-mile) highway.
At a press conference on Thursday, Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said the military was authenticating the Australia radioactive capsule and that it will be transported to a secure location in the city of Perth.
Dawson remarked that searching for the Australia radioactive capsule within a vast area "was a monumental challenge," and the search teams recovered "the needle in the haystack," Reuters reported.
The Australia radioactive capsule missing, measuring only 6mm (0.24 inches) in diameter and 8mm in length, has enough cesium-137 to cause health hazards like skin damage, burns, or even radiation poisoning, per a pervious HNGN report.
The search was conducted using specialized equipment, such as radioactivity detectors.
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The state's emergency services credited "inter-agency" coordination amid apparently unfathomable difficulties when they announced the recovery on Wednesday.
According to authorities, the Australia radioactive capsule was discovered by a vehicle traveling at 70 km/h that was equipped with special technology that detected radiation, per BBC.
No Charges Will Be Filed
The capsule was eventually recovered around 2 meters from the roadside using portable detecting equipment, they said.
Two days after receiving word from Rio Tinto Iron Ore, Western Australia's Department of Fire and Emergency Services declared the capsule's disappearance public on Friday.
Simon Trott, CEO of Rio Tinto Iron Ore, said that the contractor was authorized to transfer the Australia radioactive capsule and that a Geiger counter verified its presence on the vehicle before it left the mine.
Trott apologized to the public for any distress they may have caused, per AP News.
The incident was ruled an accident by the police, thus no charges will be filed.
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