> near the desert mine it came from
Showing results for naturally occurring Cesium 137
Despite its prevalence in spent nuclear fuel and nuclear waste, cesium-137 is actually extremely rare. Its half-life is too short for it to persist from natural fission sources, and on earth it is a synthetic isotope only. Mar 20, 2012
Are you wondering what a "mining company" is doing with a squirrel turd sized vial of cesium-137 in the desert? Me too.
[insert Yakkity Sax]
On 10 January 2023, the capsule was packed in order for repair works to be carried out in Perth. Between 11 and 14 January, the capsule left Rio Tinto's Gudai-Darri mine for transport. The package containing the capsule arrived in Perth on 16 January and was unloaded and placed into secure storage. The package was unpacked for inspection on 25 January, with one of four mounting bolts and all screws on the gauge missing, and the capsule itself also missing. Authorities surmised that the bolt had worked loose because of vibrations during the journey, and then the capsule had fallen through the bolt hole. [/Yakkity Sax]