The following information was provided by the
North Carolina Radioactive Materials Branch (NC
RMB) via email:
The NC RMB reports the loss of a generally licensed fixed nuclear gauge source (Manufacturer: Industrial Dynamics Co. Ltd. (Filtec), Model: 06110, SN: 2234, 100 mCi, Am-241).
The licensee believes the entire device may have accidentally been thrown into the trash or scrap. The device was stored in a maintenance trailer and was being used for spare parts. The device was last seen on June 17, 2024, during routine preventive maintenance by a field service engineer. Upon discovering the missing source, the licensee searched the site, and the device could not be found. The licensee does not possess a survey meter. The incident was reported to the NC RMB on June 10, 2025. On June 24, 2025, an NC RMB inspector conducted an on-site search for the source and the source could not be located.
Licensee believes the device was accidentally thrown away due to staff not understanding the radiological importance of the device. A thorough search was performed by both the licensee and agreement state staff and the source could not be located.
NC Event Number: NC250008
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