On November 7, at 7:00
AM the
Illinois Emergency Management Agency's Communications Center contacted our [Illinois Emergency
Mgmt. Agency] Radiation Duty Officer to advise they had been told of a theft of radioactive material. The report was filed by the Radiation Safety Officer of GSG Material Testing Inc. A portable
moisture density gauge had been
stolen from their temporary worksite in Chicago during the night. The
Troxler model 3430 (s/n 35592) had been forcibly removed from a construction trailer at 704 West 42nd Street, Chicago, IL. The
gauge contains two sources; 9 milliCi Cs-137and 40 milliCi Am-241:Be. The call to the
IEMA Comm Ctr came from the licensee's Radiation Safety Officer [DELETED]. The
gauge was last seen in the trailer yesterday at the close of business. The Chicago Police Department was contacted and had arrived at the scene to complete a report. Evidence at the scene indicated thieves had entered by bending bars which were over a window and then breaking the glass. They had ransacked the trailer looking for items of worth. They broke the lock on the transport container which held the
gauge and then removed the
gauge from the trailer. The licensee indicated that, contrary to instructions, the field technician assigned the
gauge had left the device in the trailer. The
RSO also indicated that during today's police interview, they were advised that the trailer had a previous break-in a few months prior, of which they were unaware. The Agency [Illinois Emergency
Mgmt. Agency] is awaiting additional information from the licensee before potentially taking enforcement action. A
reactive inspection may be justified. We [Illinois Emergency
Mgmt. Agency] are considering this matter open.
Illinois Report Number: IL0800065
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.