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On Monday, Rio Tinto Ltd apologized for losing a small, radioactive capsule. The company thinks that the capsule fell out of a truck in the desert of Western Australia.
There were radiation alerts in the region because of the lost radioactive capsule. Nobody is sure how long it has been missing.
The capsule is part of a tool that is used to check the quality of iron ore. Rio Tinto Ltd says that the tool was picked up from a mine on January 12, transported, and then unpacked for inspection on January 25. During the inspection, the tool was found broken and the radioactive capsule missing.
The truck that delivered the broken tool traveled 1,400 kilometers (870 miles), longer than the island of Great Britain. Officials are searching the whole route.
The radioactive capsule is silver, 6mm in diameter and 8mm long. The radioactive material inside is called Caesium-137. The radiation from it is equal to 10 x-rays per hour.
Officials recommend that people stay at least 5 meters away from the capsule because it might cause burns or sickness from radiation. They also say that the danger for most people is not very high.
The state’s emergency services department has formed a group with special tools to search for the missing capsule. A third-party contractor will also help with the search.
Analysts said that it is normal to move dangerous things to and from mines, and also said that situations like this are very rare.
Vocabulary
- Apologize – to say sorry
- Radioactive – having or producing powerful and dangerous energy that comes from the breaking up of atoms ☢️
- Capsule – a small container
- Desert – a dry, hot area with very little water and few plants
- Radiation – Energy released in the form of particles or electromagnetic waves ☢️
- Region – a large area of the Earth; an area of land with similar qualities/characteristics
- Quality – characteristic; feature; attribute; property
- Iron ore – a type of rock that contains a lot of iron
- Mine – a big hole in the ground that people make to get material like coal, gold and other metals
- Transport – to move goods or people from one place to another
- Inspection – to look at something carefully; examine; check
- Missing – can’t be found; not present; absent or lost
- Deliver – to bring something to a person or to a place
- Route – the way to go; the course; path; direction
- Diameter – the distance across something; the length of a straight line that reaches from one point on the edge of a round shape or object, through its center, to a point on the opposite edge;
- X-ray – a type of radiation that can go through many solid substances, often used to take pictures of bones inside of our bodies
- Official – a person who works for the government and has power or authority; officer; executive
- Burn – to be hurt, damaged, or destroyed by fire, extreme heat or chemicals
- Form – to bring different parts together to create something; to start; to set up; to launch
- Third-party – a company that is not the main manufacturer or provider; a person or business that is involved, but not the most important;
- Contractor – a person or company that is hired to do a specific job
- Analyst – a person who studies and evaluates information or data to understand a situation or problem
- Situation – condition; circumstance; state of affairs; the way it is; event; occurrence
Quiz
Discussion Questions
- How does the lost radioactive capsule affect the local community? If you lived there, how would you feel?
- In your opinion, what are some of the risks of losing a small amount of radioactive material? Do you think there are security risks?
- Who should pay the cost of searching for the lost material?
Original Story
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