The following information was obtained from the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania via email and fax:
The Department [Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection] received a phone call on March 13, 2015 regarding a lost/missing nuclear density gauge. This event is reportable within 24-hours per 10 CFR 20.2201 (a)(1)(i).
The gauge was last used on December 16, 2014 at a job site in New Brighton, PA and discovered missing during the next routine quarterly inventory. The case and lock were both intact inside a locked storage area. There were no signs of forced entry and nothing else was missing. The employee, after being questioned, claims no knowledge of the whereabouts of the gauge.
[Gauge] Model: Troxler 3411B
Serial #: 8254
Isotope: Cs-137 & Am-241
Activity: 9 mCi Cs-137 and 44 mCi Am-241
The police have been notified. The Department will conduct an in depth reactive inspection. A press release will be issued requesting information from the public. More information will be provided upon receipt.
Event Report ID No: PA 150006
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