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| Start date | Reporting criterion | Title | Event description | System | LER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENS 42581 | 16 May 2006 23:15:00 | Agreement State | Agreement State Report Involving a Lost Moisture Density Gauge | The licensee while transporting a Campbell Moisture Density Gauge S/N MC1391 from one jobsite to another in El Paso, TX, discovered upon arrival that the tailgate of the truck was down and the transport case with gauge were missing. The loss occurred within a sixteen (16) mile radius of the intersection of Hawkins Blvd. and Montana Ave. The licensee acknowledged to the TX Department of Health representative that the instrument had not been properly secured prior to transport. The gauge contains two (2) sources, i.e., 50 millicuries Am-241/Be and 10 millicuries Cs-137. The licensee informed local law enforcement and the TX Department of Health. TX Incident No. I-8338
Incident # correction: It should be I-8337.
The licensee (RSO) contacted the TX Department of Health representative to indicate that a trucker who is presently in Chicago, IL., found the instrument. The RSO requested the trucker FedEx the gauge back to the licensee. When the State tried the trucker's phone number they received a message that the number is disconnected. No other identification concerning the trucker was available. Contacted NMSS (Janosko) and R4DO (Cain). Emailed ILTAB and Mexico.
The State provided the following information via email: On November 24, 2007 at 3:08 pm CST, the Incident Investigation Program (IIP) was contacted by the local El Paso, Texas FBI during the State holiday office closure, that the (moisture density) gauge had been recovered by the local police department and retained for evidence. The individual had made a call to the local fire department reporting that his family may have been exposed to radiation from a piece of equipment on his property. The local fire department in turn contacted the local police department, who discovered it was the reported stolen gauge in May 2006. The local police department contacted the local FBI. The individual was questioned thoroughly by the FBI and finally admitted to having picked up the gauge over a year ago. The FBI asked if it was ok to return the gauge to the owner; IIP gave the ok. The FBI will contact the licensee owner to retrieve the gauge from them. The FBI agent reported the gauge was intact. It is still being decided if the individual will be prosecuted. On November 27, 2007 at 3:38 pm CST, IIP received a telephone call from the licensee asking if they could take possession of the gauge and asked if they had any more reporting requirements. They were given permission to take possession, asked to submit in writing to the licensing program that the gauge was found and to give information that gauge was checked and found to be intact. The licensee agreed. Notified R4DO(Pick), FSME EO (Rathbun), ILTAB (via email), and Mexico (via Fax). 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 injured someone who handled it or were otherwise in contact with it, or who were close to it for a period of many weeks. |