The following information was received via e-mail from the State of New Mexico:
[NM Radiation Protection Control Bureau] received notification at approximately 2:30 p.m. that seven (7) sets of button check sources licensed to the NM Radiation Control Bureau were being stored in a NM Department of Health utility trailer that was stolen in Albuquerque, NM over the weekend. These sources are used as check sources for survey meters (also stolen) during training sessions for emergency response personnel at facilities along the WIPP routes in NM. This incident is being investigated by NM State Police and the Albuquerque Police Department. Personnel from the Department of Homeland Security, the NM Department of Health, and the WIPP Emergency Response Program of the NM Radiation Control Bureau are also involved in the investigation and will provide a press release. The following sources were reported missing:
7-10 nanoCurie Pu-239
7-10 nanoCurie Sr-90 (exempt)
7-1 microCurie Cs-137 (exempt)
More details will be provided as they become available.
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.
This source is not amongst those sources or devices identified by the
IAEA Code of Conduct for the Safety & Security of Radioactive Sources to be of concern from a radiological standpoint. Therefore is it being categorized as a less than Category 3 source.