The following information was received from the State of
Washington via email:
At Selah-Home Ranch, the ranch manager noticed on Sunday morning, November 17, 2019, that someone had broken into the ranch shop building. The doors on the building had been forced open, the locked storage closet inside the building was also forced open, and the lock on a storage locker inside the storage closet was cut. Two CPN International model 503 portable nuclear gauges were stored inside the storage locker in locked storage cases. Both portable nuclear gauges were removed from the ranch shop building by the thief. One CPN International model 503 portable nuclear gauge (serial number H310606212) was found outside the ranch shop building, undamaged and still in its carrying case. The other portable nuclear gauge (believed to be serial number H35066208) is missing and stolen (approximately 50 milliCuries of americium-241/beryllium). The Zirkle Fruit Company is in the process of confirming the serial number of the stolen gauge (Sealed Source and Device Registry Number CA-0208-D-104-S).
Zirkle Fruit Company has notified the Yakima County Sheriff. The case number is 19C20517.
- * * UPDATE AT 1901 EST ON 11/20/19 FROM JAMES KILLINGBECK TO THOMAS KENDZIA * * *
The following update was received from the State of Washington via email:
The correct serial number of the CPN International model 503 moisture gauge that was stolen is: H371204057.
Notified via email the R4DO (O'Keefe), ILTAB, NMSS Events, CNSNS (Mexico).
Washington State Event No: WA-19-031
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