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Authorities in Western Australia on Wednesday recovered a tiny but dangerous radioactive capsule that fell off a truck while being transported along a 1,400-kilometer (870-mile) highway last month in what an official said was like finding the needle in the haystack.
Officials said the capsule the size of a pea was found south of Newman on the Great Northern Highway. It was detected by a search vehicle travelling at 70 kilometers (43 miles) per hour when specialist equipment picked up radiation emitting from the capsule.
Portable search equipment was then used to locate it 2 meters (6.5 feet) from the side of the road.
“This is an extraordinary result … they have quite literally found the needle in the haystack,” said Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson.
