The following information was received via fax:
This First Notice constitutes EARLY notice of events of POSSIBLE safety or public interest significance. The information is as initially received WITHOUT verification or evaluation, and is basically all that is known by the Agency [Arizona Radiation Regulatory Agency] Staff at this time.
At approximately 1000 MDT, March 28, 2011, the Agency was informed that the Licensee had a Troxler Model 3241-C, SN 1884, asphalt content gauge stolen from the F & F construction trailer at the Casa Grande job site. The theft occurred over the weekend. The gauge was locked with a chain in the construction trailer which was parked in a locked, fenced construction job site. The gauge contains 100 mCi Am-241:Be.
Casa Grande PD is investigating. The Agency continues to look for the source. The states of CA, NV, CO, UT, and NM and Mexico and U.S. NRC and FBI are being notified of this event.
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
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