The following was received from the State of
California via email:
At 1600 [PDT] on October 5, 2016, the RSO [Radiation Safety Officer] for C. Y. Geotech Inc. reported to RHB [Radiation Health Branch] that one of their nuclear density gauges (CPN model MC-1DR-P; #MD90404953 containing 10 mCi of Cs-137 and 50 mCi of Am-241/Be) had been stolen from a temporary job site. RHB informed the RSO to file a police report and place a notice into the local newspaper offering a reward for information leading to the safe return of the gauge. The RSO will require the gauge operator to make a report of exactly what happened and specifically if the Cs-137 handle was locked in the safe mode.
The gauge was not discovered missing until the morning of October 5, 2016 and the operator returned to look for the gauge. The RSO posted a lost gauge sign at the job site notifying personnel of the loss of the gauge and C. Y. Geotech's contact information for its safe return.
On Oct. 4, 2016, around 1300 [PDT], the gauge operator had finished his work with the CPN gauge and was completing paperwork at his vehicle. He forgot about the gauge and failed to secure it into the transport case before departing the job site. He believes he left the gauge on the curbside. The gauge had been recently leak tested in May 2016.
5010 Number: 100416
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