The following information was provided by the
Texas Department of State Health Services (the Department) via phone and email:
On September 24, 2024, the Department was notified by the licensee that on September 21, 2024, one of its technicians lost a Troxler model 3440 moisture density gauge. The gauge contains a 40 millicurie Am-241/Be source and an 8 millicurie Cs-137 source. The technician had completed work at a temporary job site and placed the gauge on the back of the pickup truck they were using. The technician failed to place the gauge in the transport container. The technician failed to secure the gauge in the truck. The technician drove off the job site and after a short distance realized they had failed to secure the gauge. The technician stopped and found the gauge was no longer in the truck. The technician stated he looked for the gauge but did not find it. The licensee stated the technician brought the empty transport box back to the storage location and left it. The licensee stated that on September 24, 2024, they went to the storage location to use the gauge and found the box was empty. The licensee contacted the technician who stated they had lost the gauge on Saturday. The licensee stated the Cs-137 source rod was not locked in the shielded position. The license stated they will contact the local sheriff office and notify them of the lost gauge. Since the Cs-137 rod was not locked in the shielded position, they can not say with any certainty that the lost sources would not create an exposure risk to any individual.
Texas Incident #: 10131
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