The following was received from the
Maryland Department of the Environment via email:
On August 8, 2017, Hillis-Carnes, Maryland Licensee MD-03-054-01, notified the Maryland Radiological Health Program (RHP) that a field technician had his van carjacked at the Key's Point temporary job site. His Troxler moisture density gauge model 3430 (serial number 31733) was still in the van and locked. The licensee notified Baltimore police.
On August 9, 2017, the Maryland Department of the Environment Emergency Response Division was notified by the Baltimore police that the van and the Troxler gauge were recovered at O'Donnell Heights the evening of August 8. An RHP inspector went to the site and took possession of the gauge and is notifying the licensee so they can retrieve it.
Troxler 3430 has a Cesium 137 sealed source less that 9 milliCuries and a 44 milliCurie AmBe source. No indication of any damage.
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