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Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

abc.net.au

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Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#61

Post by MrDresden »

martynr wrote: post #57

Does anyone else feel like this is slightly overblown? From my perspective it was a localised and relatively limited risk and had fairly obvious and achievable corrective actions with a relatively good chance of success. It intrigues me that this seems to be perceived as something so calamitous/ risky.

On the world stage, this is not even a small blip.

But the fear of radiation is a deep seated one, cultivated over the last 80 years by constant bombardment (pun intended) of information and media showing the dangers and hazards of runaway nuclear fission.

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#62

Post by ekianjo »

Gare wrote: post #58
martynr wrote: post #57

Does anyone else feel like this is slightly overblown? From my perspective it was a localised and relatively limited risk and had fairly obvious and achievable corrective actions with a relatively good chance of success. It intrigues me that this seems to be perceived as something so calamitous/ risky.

I'd rather live in a country where authorities are overly cautious and transparent than secretive and negligent.

More like they are likely not telling about the stuff they are doing that is really dangerous.

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#63

Post by wkat4242 »

defrost wrote: post #11
ta_6104829 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not sure about mining, but in dredging it’s used to measure the density of the slurry in a pipe. It’s possibly something similar in mining.

Bang on - it's for density. You'll also see radioactive sources in household smoke alarms on a smaller scale to estimate smoke load in air, and in mineral exploration in downhole detectors mapping density of surrounding materials, in oil and gas measuring the density profiles of fluids as they flow past, etc. Flashlights are visible light spectrum sources, gamma emitters are similar in function ( Cs-137 emits a 32 Ke…

Those household smoke detectors were in the 80s, the ones sold now are optical.

But of course there's many still around, sadly

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#64

Post by egorfine »

wayvey wrote: post #9

If this had been found by the wrong people, what kind of nefarious uses could it have had?

Irradiate someone by putting the capsule in the immediate vicinity in their living space.

That's about the evilest use I can imagine for this radiation source.

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#65

Post by yodelshady »

jarenmf wrote: post #6

> It was believed the capsule fell through the gap left by a bolt hole, after the bolt was dislodged when a container collapsed as a result of vibrations during the trip. You would imagine someone have thought of this failure mode

Someone absolutely did, and wrote controls for it, down to the calibration of the torque wrench.

Just as they thought of the failure modes of:

  - cold fluoropolymers in rocket boosters
  - graphite moderated water cooled reactors
  - live ammunition on movie sets
  - insurance products assuming uncorrelated risks in a correlated market
  - etc
All of these things were known and controlled risks long before the event that realised them happened.

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#66

Post by mschuster91 »

martynr wrote: post #57

Does anyone else feel like this is slightly overblown? From my perspective it was a localised and relatively limited risk and had fairly obvious and achievable corrective actions with a relatively good chance of success. It intrigues me that this seems to be perceived as something so calamitous/ risky.

> From my perspective it was a localised and relatively limited risk

Localized? Yes. But limited? You can't see radiation. The absolute worst case would be someone getting it stuck into a tire or a shoe, spreading radiation everywhere they go.

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#67

Post by Denvercoder9 »

askvictor wrote: post #51
Loic wrote: post #23

I am not surprised the found the capsule, I am surprised by the very professional way the company handled the case. If you look at the timeline of events (see link from dang comment), they reacted extremely quickly and professionally, from the contractor doing the transport to Rio Tinto informing the authorities. For me Rio Tinto was the company not taking care of our environment[0] in its operations, so for once, I…

> It vanished between January 11 and January 16, but its loss was not reported for more than a week. That doesn't seem that quick or professional to me...

"not discovered" would've been more accurate than "not reported".

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#68

Post by dabiged »

martynr wrote: post #57

Does anyone else feel like this is slightly overblown? From my perspective it was a localised and relatively limited risk and had fairly obvious and achievable corrective actions with a relatively good chance of success. It intrigues me that this seems to be perceived as something so calamitous/ risky.

I think you are missing the context around nuclear anything in Australia.

We have no nuclear powerplants. We have no nuclear submarines. Large portions of the country are staunchly against mining uranium. Most people don't know We operate a single nuclear reactor that only produces medical isotopes. There is no nuance on anything nuclear here because it is almost completely absent from the country.

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#69

Post by johnchristopher »

ekianjo wrote: post #62
Gare wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd rather live in a country where authorities are overly cautious and transparent than secretive and negligent.

More like they are likely not telling about the stuff they are doing that is really dangerous.

They are hiding a teapot in orbit.

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#70

Post by andrewinardeer »

freddie_mercury wrote: post #31
lelaurent wrote: post #8

How did they find it?

It is explained in the article. "He said a search vehicle was driving past at 70 kilometres per hour on the Great Northern Highway when a detection device revealed radiation."

I would have loved to see their reactions when they found it.
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