On September 25, 2006 at approximately 6:15 P.M., a
gauge user from Geo-Environmental, Inc., had returned to the office to return
Troxler gauge 3440, S/N 34036 (9 mCi
Cs-137, 44 mCi Am-241:Be) to it's storage location, when he noticed that the
gauge was missing and immediately contacted the
RSO to report the incident. After the
RSO had spoken with the
gauge user, the
RSO received a call from the office manager that the
gauge had been recovered by the Irvine Police Department on Jamboree Rd. in Irvine near the intersection of Jamboree Rd., and Richter Ave. The
gauge was returned to the Geo-Environmental, Inc., office at approximately 6:45 P.M. The
gauge most likely was out of the control of the licensee for approximately one hour. The
gauge case was intact with a single scuff mark. The
gauge was inspected by the licensee and found to be intact. The
RSO then contacted
RHB [DELETED] by phone to report the incident by voice mail. At approximately 9:00 A.M. on September 26, 2007, [RHB] spoke with the
RSO about the incident and instructed him to have the
gauge inspected and leak tested by a service provider and the
RSO stated that he would take the
gauge to Maurer Technical Services to be inspected and leak tested. [RHB] also instructed the
RSO to provide, within 30 days, a written report, in accordance to
10 CFR 20.2201 (a)(1)(i). The
RSO stated that the
gauge user involved was allowed to transport the
gauge in an open bed truck and with two chains and two locks and with two locks on the
gauge case. He also stated that the
gauge was transported with only a single lock to secure both chains.
CA report number: 092607
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.