Corporation sorry for losing capsule

PERTH, Australia — A mining corporation on Sunday apologized for losing a highly radioactive capsule over an 870-mile stretch of Western Australia, as authorities combed parts of the road looking for the tiny but dangerous substance.

The capsule was part of a device believed to have fallen off a truck while being transported between a desert mine site and Perth on Jan. 10.

The truck transporting the capsule arrived at a Perth depot on Jan. 16. Emergency services were notified of the missing capsule on Jan. 25.

The capsule measures 0.31 inch by 0.24 inch, and people have been warned it could have unknowingly become lodged in their car’s tires.