The Radiation Safety Officer at Chicago Testing Laboratory's (IL-02065-01) Elk Grove facility reported the theft of a
Troxler gauge. The
gauge is a model 3440 with s/n 16643. It contains 8 milliCuries of
Cs-137 and 40 milliCuries of Am-241:Be. The construction
gauge was
stolen from the bed of a company truck early this morning between 0400 and 0630 while it was parked at the residence of the operator in Blue Island, IL. Blue Island police have investigated the reported theft. Several other pieces of construction equipment were
stolen from the truck as well. The
gauge was stored in its manufacturer's large yellow
DOT Type A container. The
gauge is designed to be used in the construction industry to determine compaction and density of soil, roadbeds, asphalt and concrete. The sealed sources have withstood direct impact from compactors and were designed with that possibility in mind.
Local police have been advised to be aware of the theft and to notify the Agency's dispatch center should the gauge be located. They were cautioned that should the gauge appear to be damaged, crushed or dismantled to not approach the device and to secure the scene pending our notification/arrival.
Sources that are 'Less than IAEA Category 3 sources,' are either sources that are very unlikely to cause permanent injury to individuals or contain a very small amount of radioactive material that would not cause any permanent injury. For some of these sources, such as moisture density gauges or thickness gauges that are IAEA Category 4, the amount of unshielded radioactive material, if not safely managed or securely protected, could possibly - although it is unlikely - temporarily injure someone who handled it or were otherwise in contact with it, or who were close to it for a period of many weeks.
Illinois Report number: IL050051