A truck belonging to the licensee flipped over on a highway in Polk County, FL on January 1, 2007, at approximately 8 or 9 pm. The truck was carrying a Humboldt Model 5001EZ
moisture density gauge (nominal 50 millicuries
Am-241/Be and 10 millicuries
Cs-137). The driver was unhurt and walked to a local business to report the accident leaving the
gauge unattended. The
gauge was
stolen while the driver was gone. Police were notified and a report filed. The
gauge was locked inside of the locked case and chained to the vehicle.
FL report #FL07-001
- * * UPDATE FROM STATE OF FLORIDA (FURNACE) TO HUFFMAN AT 0726 EST ON 1/10/07 * * *
The State reports that a gauge meeting the description of the missing gauge was found by a Polk County representative on the side of a road. The gauge was not in its case but was intact and did not appear to be damaged. The gauge is being stored by the County (which is licensed to possess and use moisture density gauges) in an authorized safe and secure storage location and will be transferred to the licensee today. The licensee plans to send the gauge to a vendor to have it checked-out, leak tested, and certified for use before returning it to service.
R1DO (Bellamy) and NMSS (Morell) have been notified. ILTAB notified by e-mail.
THIS MATERIAL EVENT CONTAINS A "LESS THAN CAT 3" LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL
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. Some of these sources, such as
moisture density gauges or thickness
gauges that are 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.