The following information was provided by the State of
California Department of Health Services via e-mail:
Four nuclear moisture density gauges were stolen from a locked construction trailer near Simi Valley (Ventura County, CA) over the weekend of 9/18-19/04. In addition to the gauges, the thieves stole other equipment in the trailer belonging to the licensee (Construction Testing and Engineering) as well as construction equipment from a number of other contractor trailers at the construction site. Two of the nuclear gauges were Campbell Pacific Nuclear model MC3 (serial numbers # M390104780 and # M300105431), one was a Troxler model 3440 (serial # T34417651), and the fourth was a Troxler model 3411B (serial # T3414200). Each gauge contained small quantities of the radioactive materials cesium-137 and americium-241. While it is possible to utilize radioactive materials from a large number of such gauges to make a terrorist radioactive dispersion device (RDD), this theft does not appear to have targeted the nuclear gauges, but rather to have included the nuclear gauges in a theft motivated by the resale potential of the general construction materials that were taken. The thefts are being investigated by the Simi Valley police, who reported that there have been a number of such thefts of construction equipment that have occurred in the area, and it is possible that the equipment is resold in Mexico.
DHS/RHB [Department of Health Services Radiological Health Branch] inspected this facility within the last few weeks, and did not identify any significant security issues related to the storage of the nuclear
gauges at this site. The theft was reported to the federal government (Nuclear Regulatory Commission), who reviews such reports for possible national trends. Because of the possibility that the
stolen materials may be resold in Mexico, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was requested to notify Mexican radiological authorities of the theft.