Oh good grief, here's Rio Tinto having apologize again!
Rio Tinto Issues Apology After Radioactive Capsule Goes Missing
This file photos shows Rio Tinto employees in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, where the company mines for iron ore. On Monday, Rio Tinto apologized after a radioactive capsule being transported from the Gudai-Darri iron ore mine was lost during transport. (Image courtesy of Rio Tinto)
"Melbourne, Australia—Rio Tinto Group is making another public apology, this time over a tiny radioactive capsule lost in a vast expanse of desert in Western Australia.
The Melbourne, Australia-based mining company issued the statement of apology Monday, with Rio Tinto Iron Ore CEO Simon Trott stating, “We are taking this incident very seriously. We recognize this is clearly very concerning and are sorry for the alarm it has caused in the Western Australian community.”
The round, silver capsule is tiny—about 6 mm (0.2 inches) in diameter and 8 mm (0.3 inches) long—and was part of a gauge used to measure the density of iron ore feed in the crushing circuit of the fixed plant at the Gudai-Darri iron ore mine, the company said.
The capsule contains a small amount of cesium-137, a radioactive isotope of the element cesium (Cs).Other cesium isotopes include barium and mercury.
Rio Tinto said the gauge was picked up from the mining site on Jan. 12 and loaded onto the truck of a third-party company it uses to transport hazardous materials.
It was then transported about 870 miles south to a suburb of Perth, Australia, where the miner has a storage facility for radioactive materials. It arrived on Jan. 16.
Rio Tinto didn’t notice the capsule was missing until Jan. 25, when the gauge was unpacked for inspection.
It was found “broken apart with one of the four mounting bolts missing and the source itself and all screws on the gauge also missing,” the government of Western Australia said.
It’s believed the gauge broke during transport and the radioactive capsule fell out of a gap in the truck.
The misplaced miniscule capsule has caused Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) to issue a hazmat warning stretching from remote regions in the north of the state to Perth.
“Exposure to this substance could cause radiation burns or radiation sickness … Risk to the general community is relatively low, however it is important to be aware of the risks and what to do if you see the capsule,” the warning notes.
DFES said anyone who spots it is advised to stay at least 5 meters (about 16 feet) away—don’t try to pick it up or put it in a car and take it anywhere—and call the authorities.
DFES and radiation specialists are driving north and south along the Great Northern Highway looking for the capsule.
Rio Tinto’s Trott said the company is aiding in the search while also trying to figure out how the capsule got lost.
“As well as fully supporting the relevant authorities, we have launched our own investigation to understand how the capsule was lost in transit. As part of this investigation, we are working closely with the contractor to better understand what went wrong in this instance,” he said.
“We have offered our full and ongoing support to authorities in the search for the missing device. We have completed radiological surveys of all areas on site where the device had been, and surveyed roads within the mine site as well as the access road leading away from the Gudai-Darri mine site.”
Rio Tinto’s statement regarding the misplaced radioactive capsule comes just a few years after its executive director and chief executive along with other top officials resigned after the mining company blew up ancient caves sacred to two Australian Aboriginal groups—the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people—in Western Australia’s Juukan Gorge in order to get to the iron ore underneath.
The resignations took place in September 2020, with Rio Tinto issuing a statement at the time acknowledging what happened to the culturally and historically significant site in the Juukan Gorge was “wrong.”
This one came in soon after the forum crashed, so I saved it so we'd have the good news posted and not leave the question open for future readers of this thread.
Tiny Radioactive Capsule Lost in Australian Outback Found
The radioactive capsule lost along a desolate stretch of road in Western Australia was found Wednesday morning, mining company Rio Tinto and Australian authorities said. The capsule was part of an industrial gauge being used at Rio Tinto’s Gudai-Darri iron ore mine. (Image courtesy of Rio Tinto)
"Melbourne, Australia—Search crews have located the small radioactive capsule lost along a long stretch of highway in the Australia Outback, Rio Tinto and government officials announced Wednesday.
The round, silver capsule measures about 6 mm (0.2 inches) in diameter and 8 mm (0.3 inches) long and contains a small amount of cesium-137, a radioactive isotope of the element cesium (Cs).
It was discovered to be missing on Jan. 25.
A team of personnel from Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFAS) and Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) found the capsule Wednesday around 11:30 a.m. local time using specialized radiation equipment, Western Australia authorities said.
“This is an extraordinary result by Western Australians and Australians, and it is a great result for Western Australia,” Stephen Dawson, Western Australia’s minister for emergency services, said in a press conference livestreamed via Facebook.
“When you consider the scope of the search area, locating the subject was a monumental challenge. The search groups have quite literally found the needle in the haystack.”
He continued: “It once again highlights the extraordinary capabilities of our emergency services in Western Australia and of course they have been challenged over the past few weeks with a variety of fires and floods.”
Searchers located the capsule on the northbound side of the highway just south of the town of Newman, which is about 68 miles southeast of the mine.
Authorities said Wednesday it was transported in a lead container to Newman, where it was stored overnight before being taken to a WA Health facility in Perth on Thursday.
The capsule was part of an industrial gauge being used to measure iron ore feed in the crushing circuit of the fixed plant at the Gudai-Darri iron ore mine.
A contractor Rio Tinto hires to transport radioactive materials picked up the gauge from the mine on Jan. 12.
Though the gauge reached the storage facility on Jan. 16, it wasn’t until Jan. 25 that the contractor discovered the capsule was missing and informed Rio Tinto.
The discovery sparked an intense week-long search along the desolate 870-mile stretch of highway between Gudai-Darri and Perth.
On Wednesday, Simon Trott, the head of the mining company’s iron ore division, apologized again for the incident and vowed a “full and thorough investigation” into how it happened and to assess the company’s use of contractors to transport radioactive materials.
“While the recovery of the capsule is a great testament to the skill and tenacity of the search team, the fact is, it should never have been lost in the first place,” he said. I'd like to ... " https://nationaljeweler.com/articles/11 ... 0Campaigns
PinkDiamond ISG Registered Gemologist
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