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Someone fixin' tuh get fired: Australian radioactive nugget lost

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As the search continues for a tiny radioactive capsule in Western Australia, the state's deputy premier says there needs to be a review into how it disappeared.  The tiny radioactive source was part of a radiation gauge used commonly to measure radioactivity in oil and gas processing plants.  It was lost in transit somewhere along a 1,400 kilometre journey between a Rio Tinto mine site in WA's north, and a depot in the suburb of Malaga about 11km north of Perth's CBD, between January 11 and January 16.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-29/call-for-review-into-disappearance-of-radioactive-capsule/101904900

 

Crikey!

As if Australia needed more dangerous animals. Now there are going to be giant plutonium toads all over the fucking place.

 

 

97222670.jpg

 

Edited by smuggs

DQA: Is this honestly any sort of deal? Seems like an attention-grabbing headline but losing a tiny bit in the middle of the desert seems to be not that concerning.

Probably where all the single socks are, or my wife’s cellphone.

16 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

If only it emitted some sort of signal to help locate it

Should have put an AirTag on it. 

Do they not have a "Find My Tiny Radioactive Capsule" app?  It's 2023 for fuck's sake.

Seems like this should’ve been in a large lead lined carrying case that’s impossible to misplace instead of just bouncing around in the cup holder of a ‘97 Hilux.

1 hour ago, Pato del Muerto said:

If only it emitted some sort of signal to help locate it

It does of course, and so if this has really not fallen far off the road, it will not take too long to find it, even if they have to look for thousands of miles. Gamma ray spectroscopy FTW!

 

I thought "radioactive nugget" was a term of endearment for children born around Chernobyl?

Is this how Mad Max started?

22 minutes ago, Steel Shank said:

This news has me wanting to bang a bunch of hot Australian chicks.

and have them make you a vegemite sandwich afterwards?

59 minutes ago, Deej said:

I thought "radioactive nugget" was a term of endearment for children born around Chernobyl?

It's what happens 5 hours after you eat $40 worth of Taco Bell.

  • Popular Post
2 hours ago, Steel Shank said:

This news has me wanting to bang a bunch of hot Australian chicks.

CF41061C-E34A-4F63-8D22-8EE75F6C0AE5.jpeg.352306c3dd0f496203819569bd17404b.jpeg

#1. Always and forever. 

I’m sure we’re about to see more of these

 

image.thumb.jpeg.4c639a253dbe4fdca18e0c1bffc21ec3.jpeg

11 minutes ago, Kennythetiger said:

CF41061C-E34A-4F63-8D22-8EE75F6C0AE5.jpeg.352306c3dd0f496203819569bd17404b.jpeg

#1. Always and forever. 

image.jpeg.45f4e035f90e469189b6c6d950c584b5.jpeg

3 hours ago, crash_davis said:

It's what happens 5 hours after you eat $40 worth of Taco Bell.

No, that's radioactive liquid. 

Never fear. Men are At Work on the case of the missing nugget

image.thumb.jpeg.7e63e6a127c44933b04c10854e0c473e.jpeg

 

Edited by GenXer

7 hours ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

DQA: Is this honestly any sort of deal? Seems like an attention-grabbing headline but losing a tiny bit in the middle of the desert seems to be not that concerning.

The route was 870 miles long and the capsule is smaller than a penny.

But what it lacks in size, the capsule makes up for in radiation. Containing the radioactive isotope cesium-137, the capsule emits the equivalent of 10 X-rays in an hour. Contact could cause burns, radiation sickness, and skin damage, and prolonged exposure could lead to cancer.

So, what’s it even used for? Mining companies deploy these capsules as sensors to calculate things like the thickness of pipes. The mining company that managed to lose this capsule, industry giant Rio Tinto, apologized and said it was launching an investigation into the perplexing circumstances of how this tiny object fell off a truck.

Meh. Radiation isn’t bad for you. That’s a bunch of pernicious nonsense
 

 

well the new music video from the Firm sounds lit as fuck.

Its probably in a box that's why it's so hard to find.  Those things are about 5 curie sources.  They'd just has to send a NIST plane in that area and they would pick up something way greater than background.  If it was in a lead box like it should be.  Then it would be like finding a small suitcase in a desert.

csb/ I once imported one of these small radioactive elements into Nigeria for a similar measuring device.  My God, the paperwork required, you can’t even imagine/csb

35 minutes ago, CycleTex87 said:

csb/ I once imported one of these small radioactive elements into Nigeria for a similar measuring device.  My God, the paperwork required, you can’t even imagine/csb

Try getting one through an airport and on an airliner in your carry-on if you want to talk about paperwork and legal hassles.

Pre-9/11, very easy though.

Just needed a walkabout with a Geiger counter

6 hours ago, RPM said:

Just needed a walkabout with a Geiger counter

A micro cache in "Western Australia".  Even with a radioactive marker hint, that's a seriously good geocache find.

On 1/30/2023 at 8:45 AM, CooterBrown said:

Seems like this should’ve been in a large lead lined carrying case that’s impossible to misplace instead of just bouncing around in the cup holder of a ‘97 Hilux.

To be fair, the '97 Hilux is more indestructible than the lead lined carrying case.

 

This YouTube channel has lots of videos about different radiation disaters, https://www.youtube.com/@PlainlyDifficult, such as the Goiania incident.

We had a whole book on radiation incidents when I was on the submarine.  The wildest one was I believe Argentina.  A truck crashed and they looted it.  Like 40 people died from acute radiation poisoning from moving material

On 1/30/2023 at 3:31 PM, GenXer said:

Never fear. Men are At Work on the case of the missing nugget

image.thumb.jpeg.7e63e6a127c44933b04c10854e0c473e.jpeg

 

They burned the Midnight Oil to find it

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