Emergency services have secured the Caesium-137 source which fell out of a truck earlier this month.
The search, led by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES), spanned 1,400 kilometres from the outback to metropolitan Perth and yielded success in just seven days.
The tiny capsule (6mm in diameter, 8mm tall) was located two-metres off the northbound roadside edge of Great Northern Highway yesterday morning.
It was discovered by a vehicle search crew which was using specialised radiation equipment.
The capsule was securely transported in a lead container to Newman for secure storage last night and has been taken to a WA health facility in Perth.
Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner, Darren Klemm AFSM, commended the extraordinary efforts of all agencies and personnel involved in the operation.
“We have essentially found the needle in the haystack,” said Klemm.
“When you consider the challenge of finding an object smaller than a 10-cent coin along a 1,400-kilometre stretch of Great Northern Highway, it is a tremendous result.
“I want to thank everyone involved in the search – we called on a large number of agencies to assist and this was a great example of working together to achieve an outstanding result.”
Western Australia’s Chief Health Officer and Chair of the Radiological Council, Dr Andrew Robertson, said the chances of anyone being contaminated by the source were extremely remote.
“As I have mentioned previously, to be at risk of radiation exposure you need to be close to the source for a period of time,” said Dr Robertson.
“If you were one metre away from the source for one hour, that would be the equivalent of receiving the radiation dose of 10 X-rays.
“This is a great result for the community of Western Australia.”
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