The following information was received by e-mail:
The licensee's RSO [Radiation Safety Officer] contacted DRH [Mississippi Division of Radiological Health] to report the theft of their Troxler Model 3440 (S/N 26434) nuclear gauge that was secured in the back of their stolen white Ford F-150 pick-up truck parked in the licensee's fenced lot. The truck and gauge were estimated to have been stolen between 1500 [CST] and 1530 [CST]. The gauge was stored in the yellow plastic transport case with Radioactive Yellow II labels attached.
The licensee was instructed by DRH to send in a written report describing the incidents leading up to the event that occurred on January 12, 2011, and any corrective actions or follow up performed. Once the gauge is located, DRH will survey and retrieve the gauge. DRH will notify NRC Operations. Event is under investigation and enforcement action may be required by DRH.
Jackson City Police was notified by the licensee. Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) notified Mississippi Emergency Management and Mississippi Homeland Security. MSDH issued a press release January 13, 2011. DRH will notify NRC Operations.
Gauge Isotopes: Cs-137(9 mCi) and Am/Be-241 (40 mCi).
Mississippi Event Number: MS-11-001
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