The following information was provided by the
California Department of Public Health via email:
On December 4, 2025, the radiation safety officer (RSO) for Anbessaw Consulting, Inc., contacted the California Department of Public Health about a stolen moisture density gauge. The gauge was a CPN MC-3 Elite (S/N M30500858, 10 mCi Cs-137, 50 mCi Am-241/Be). The gauge was located on the floor of the rear seat of a locked pickup. The gauge was not secured to the vehicle frame, was not inside the gauge transportation box, and the trigger lock was not secured. The truck was located in the parking lot of the [gauge user's hotel] in Alameda, CA. The gauge was left in the vehicle around 1700-1745 PST on December 3, 2025, and was discovered missing around 0650 PST on December 4, 2025. After discovery of the missing gauge, the gauge user contacted their office to report the missing gauge [to the RSO around 0725 PST]. The gauge user went to the hotel front desk to see if they had any security cameras and was told they did not. The gauge user contacted the Alameda Police Department and filed a police report. The licensee's investigation into this event is ongoing and will be reviewed further by the California Department of Public Health.
California 5010 number: 120425
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