A tiny but deadly radioactive capsule missing in Western Australia has been miraculously found.

A tiny but deadly radioactive capsule missing in Western Australia has been miraculously found on an outback road after it fell off a truck.

WA authorities on Wednesday said the ‘radioactive substance’ lost for three weeks had been located and ‘contained’ by after an extensive search along a remote stretch of road.

The successful search for the caesium-137 capsule, across a 1400km route, has been likened to finding ‘a needle in a haystack’. 

A tiny but deadly radioactive capsule missing in Western Australia has been miraculously found on an outback road

Pictured: The missing radioactive capsule that fell off a truck three weeks ago

The exact spot, just south of Newman, WA, where frantic search crews found the tiny object containing caesium-137 two metres from the roadside on the Great Northern Highway

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While the capsule was lost urgent warnings were issued that anyone who believed they might have touched it should ‘seek immediate medical advice… or visit a hospital emergency department.’

But the panic over the cancer-causing object officially ended with West Australian authorities breathing a major sigh of relief.

 ‘The radioactive substance has been found and no longer poses a risk to the community,’ the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) said in a statement.

The 8mm by 6mm item fell out of a density gauge while being trucked from a Rio Tinto mine in the Pilbara to Perth last month.

A Rio Tinto spokesperson confirmed that the missing capsule was lost by an expert radioactive materials handler. 

The capsule was located just south of Newman on the Great Northern Highway.

WA government officials said the capsule had been found on Wednesday just south of Newman on the Great Northern Highway

WA Authorities said the capsule (left) is similar to the size of an Australia 10 cent coin (right)

The item was detected by a search vehicle travelling at 70km/h when specialist equipment picked up radiation emitting from the capsule.

Portable search equipment was then used to locate it two metres from the side of the road.

The search teams included the specialists from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and DFES. 

Crews had spent six days scouring the highway for the capsule which can cause radiation burns or sickness or even death if handled.

Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said the discovery was remarkable considering the scope of the search.

‘This is an extraordinary result … they have quite literally found the needle in the haystack,’ he told reporters.

A government investigation has been launched into the incident and a report will be provided to the health minister.

The search teams included the specialists from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and WA’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services

Portable search equipment was then used to locate it two metres from the side of the road

Defence officials are verifying the identification of the capsule which has been placed into a lead container for safety.

It will be stored in a secure location in Newman before being transported to a Perth health facility.

Chief Health Officer Andy Robertson said the capsule did not appear to have moved and no injuries had been reported.

‘The substance has been safely recovered and will be transported securely in a lead container to Newman for storage overnight before it will be transported to a WA Health facility in Perth tomorrow, Thursday 2 February.’

Dr Robertson said despite its size, the capsule contained ‘quite a large radiation dose’.

He compared it to ‘receiving around 10 X-rays an hour … the amount of natural radiation we would receive in a year just by walking around’.