The following was received from the
Illinois Emergency Management Agency (the Agency) via email:
The Agency was contacted on 11/23/2020 by the Radiation Safety Officer for Heuft USA, Inc. to advise that a package scheduled to arrive today at their Downers Grove, IL facility had not arrived. The carrier, [common carrier], could not immediately locate the package. The package contained (1) special form model AMC-25 sealed source containing approximately 45 mCi of Am-241. The source serial number is 1535AR. The source is contained in a 6"x6"x6" brown "U-Line" cardboard box. As it was an excepted package, it only bears UN2910 and does not have radioactive labels on the exterior. Should the package be opened, there is an aluminum 5"x5" round can filled with foam and a zip lock bag. The bag contains a shielded source holder with the Am-241 capsule therein. The bag and the can are reportedly labeled with a trefoil and the words "Radioactive Material". Unshielded, the source would yield an exposure rate of about 8 mR/hour at one foot. This is not an immediate hazard to workers or members of the public that locate the package.
The package is assigned tracking number 349-162302-3 by [the common carrier]. The package left their Kearny, NJ terminal on 11/19/2020. There is conflicting information on whether or not the package arrived at [the common carrier's] Akron, OH terminal. The package was bound for [the common carrier's] Bolingbrook, IL terminal but reportedly never arrived. The carrier is actively searching and Illinois staff are in contact. New Jersey program staff have been notified as well. This report will be updated as additional information becomes available.
Illinois Item Number: IL200023
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