The following was received via email:
[The State of North Carolina] is writing to provide notification of a stolen portable moisture/density gauge from a reciprocal license in NC [North Carolina]. Below are the current details:
The licensee is EAS Professionals, Inc. - SC [South Carolina] Radioactive Material License No. 849. They entered the state under an expired NC reciprocity approval.
The gauge was stolen 6/22/15 between 1700 [EDT] and 2230 [EDT] from a hotel parking lot in Greensboro, NC. Licensee contacted SC about the stolen gauge on 6/23/15 at about 0930 [EDT], SC immediately notified NC.
The stolen gauge is an InstroTek Model 3500, Serial Number 1360. Sources contained include 11 mCi of Cs-137 and 44 mCi of Am-241/Be.
The Greensboro Police Department was called by the licensee and performed an investigation that included taking fingerprints and looking for hotel surveillance footage. There was evidence that bolt cutters were used to free the case from the truck. Another note, there was a separate police report filed for a different vehicle break-in around the same time and hotel location. This suggests the thief did not target the radioactive gauge, but rather a perceived value in the locked up container.
NC notified various other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.
There is no mention of a press release at this time, but [The State of North Carolina] will encourage the licensee to publish a statement and possibly a reward to motivate the device's return.
Please do not hesitate to contact [The State of North Carolina] should you have additional questions. [The State of North Carolina] will update NMED with any additional details as they unfold.
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