The following report was received as an update from the State of Texas:
On July 25, 1997, the Agency [Texas Department of State Health Services] was notified by a licensee that a Troxler model 3430 moisture density gauge serial # 24885 had been stolen from the back of a pickup truck. The gauge was not found and the Agency's file was placed in 'Inactive' status. On May 18, 2017, the Agency was contacted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation who reported the gauge had been found in an apartment in Houston, Texas, by the apartment's landlord. The gauge manufacturer was contacted and one of the manufacturer's technician retrieved the gauge and took it to its Houston location. The company that held the license is no longer licensed in the State of Texas. Additional information will be provided as it is received in accordance with SA-300.
Texas Incident #: I-7173
Additional information in NMED Item Number 980180, last updated on 04/16/1998, is as follows:
The licensee reported the theft of a moisture/density gauge containing a 1.48 GBq (40 mCi) Am-Be source and a 0.296 GBq (10 mCi) Cs-137 source. The gauge was stolen from the back of a pickup truck when the operator stopped by his apartment complex. The lock had been cut from the chain securing the gauge. The licensee notified the local police. The gauge has not been recovered.
- * * UPDATE FROM ART TUCKER VIA EMAIL ON 6/7/17 AT 1417 EDT * * *
On May 18, 2017, the Agency notified the HOO that a moisture/density gauge reported lost on July 25, 1997, had been recovered. The information was provided under the original incident number I-7173. This event is now being tracked under incident number I-9490.
Notified R4DO (Rollins) and NMSS Events Notification via email.
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