‘Sorry’: A radioactive capsule lost along an 870-mile stretch of motorway embarrasses Australian authorities and mining giant Rio Tinto
Mining company Rio Tinto has lost a “highly radioactive” capsule somewhere on a 1,400-kilometer highway across the western Australian desert.
“We take this incident very seriously. We recognize that this is clearly a matter of great concern and apologize for the alarm it has caused,” said Simon Trott, Rio Tinto’s head of iron ore, in a statement to the financial times On Sunday.
The company and the Australian government are trying to find the object, which is between 6 and 8mm long and contains a small amount of the radioactive isotope caesium-137. While the news originally broke on Friday, Rio Tinto’s involvement has not been public to date.
Rio Tinto, listed in Sydney and London, has rebuilt its reputation after destroying a site of sacred importance to Indigenous Australians as part of a 2020 expansion of an iron ore mine.
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