The following report was received from the State of
New York via fax:
The Radiation Safety Officer for Materials Testing Lab, Inc. (NYS license no. C2274) called to report that a moisture density gauge (Troxler Model 4640, serial no.1003) was stolen around 9 a.m. today. The New York City Police Department was immediately called but as of 10:45 a.m. they have not responded. The gauge contains 40 mCi of Am-241/Be and 8 mCi of Cs-137. Materials Testing Lab staff are canvassing the area and posting reward flyers with a picture of the gauge. [The RSO] will keep NYS DOH informed of any significant changes to the situation. No press release has been issued at this time. New York City radioactive material program has been notified.
NYS DOH Incident: #991
Event Report ID No. NY-12-02
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.