The following was received from the state of
South Carolina via email:
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control was notified on 02/23/23 at 1546 [EST] via telephone that a Humboldt Model 5001 device (serial number 4686) portable moisture density gauge was lost or missing. The Humboldt Model 5001 device contains a maximum activity of 11 millicuries (407 MBq) of Cs-137 and 44 millicuries (1628 MBq) of Am-241:Be. The licensee is reporting that the Humboldt Model 5001 device was lost or missing while in transit via a common carrier. The Humboldt Model 5001 device was picked up by the common carrier at a temporary jobsite in South Carolina on 01/18/23 and was intended to be delivered to the manufacturer in Raleigh, NC. The licensee is reporting that the Humboldt Model 5001 device was delivered to a common carrier facility in Durham, NC on 01/19/23. The licensee is reporting that the Humboldt Model 5001 device has not been delivered to the intended destination and the licensee is reporting that the common carrier has indicated that the shipment cannot be located.
This event is under investigation by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control was notified on 02/24/23, at 1056 EST via telephone that the Humboldt Model 5001 device (serial number 4686) has been found by the common carrier and retrieved by the licensee from the common carrier facility in Durham, NC.
This event is still under investigation by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Notified R1DO (Carfang), NMSS Events Notification, and ILTAB
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