A
Troxler moisture density gauge being used at Fort Meade (
Maryland) was found to be
stolen along with other industrial equipment at 1400 on 12/2/10. The
Troxler gauge was last seen on Monday afternoon, 11/29/10, when it was secured in a temporary storage location inside a lock-box and chained to a sea container. Other items
stolen included crane mats, a generator and miscellaneous tools.
The nuclear gauge is a Troxler Model 3430, S/N 37672, which contains two radioactive sources. One source is 44 mCi of Am-241/Be (S/N 78-2430). The other source is 9 mCi of Cs-137 (S/N 77-4907).
The licensee will notify base police to begin an investigation into the theft.
The licensee has notified the State of Maryland of the theft.
- * * UPDATE FROM DREW THOMAS TO JOE O'HARA AT 0948 ON 12/14/10 * * *
On 12/10/10, FT. Meade U.S. Army base police officers informed the licensee that the stolen container had been "dumped" back onto the jobsite. The licensee responded to the site and discovered the missing gauge inside the container. The source was in the locked and shielded position inside the gauge and the gauge doesn't appear to have been damaged. The gauge has been recovered and is now in the custody of the licensee. A leak test of the gauge is scheduled to be performed.
Notified R1DO(Holody), FSME(Reis) and ILTAB.
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. For additional information go to
http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf