---
title: "Australia’s nuclear safety agency joins hunt for radioactive capsule"
description: "MELBOURNE, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Australia’s nuclear safety agency said on Tuesday it had joined the hunt for a radioactive capsule missing in the west of the country."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-01-31-australias-nuclear-safety-agency-joins-hunt-for-radioactive-capsule/"
published: "2023-01-31T04:50:18"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 134
---

# Australia’s nuclear safety agency joins hunt for radioactive capsule

> MELBOURNE, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Australia’s nuclear safety agency said on Tuesday it had joined the hunt for a radioactive capsule missing in the west of the country.

By Reuters · Published 31 January 2023, 06:50 SAST

## Key points
- The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) is working with the Western Australian government to locate a lost radiation capsule. The capsule fell from a truck while being transported from Newman, a small town in the Kimberley region, to a storage facility in Perth - a journey of 1,400 kilometres. Authorities have yet to locate the capsule, despite having been aware of its loss up to two weeks ago. The search is proving challenging due to the vast area covered by the truck's route.
- ARPANSA is working with the WA government to locate a lost radioactive capsule.
- The capsule was part of a gauge used to measure iron ore feed and was entrusted to a contractor for transport.
- Authorities are searching along the 1,400 kilometre journey from Newman to Perth.
- The loss may have occurred up to two weeks ago.

## Content

By Melanie Burton

Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) is working with the Western Australian government to locate the capsule, it said in a statement.

The capsule, believed to have fallen from a truck, was part of a gauge used to measure the density of iron ore feed which had been entrusted to a specialist contractor to transport. The loss may have occurred up to two weeks ago.

Authorities are now grappling with the daunting task of searching along the truck's 1,400 kilometre (870 mile) journey from north of Newman - a small town in the remote Kimberley region - to a storage facility in the northeast suburbs of Perth - a distance longer than the length of Great Britain.

(Reporting by Melanie Burton in MelbourneEditing by Alasdair Pal)