ENS 53415
ENS Event | |
|---|---|
09:27 Jul 30, 2024 | |
| Title | Agreement State Report - Possible Plutonium Sphere Found |
| Event Description | Received the following by email from Florida Bureau of Radiation Control.
[A] resident at Waterford [Senior Living Center], recently passed away. His son contacted a licensed Firearms Dealer and Estate Appraiser, to assess his father's estate value. [The appraiser] discovered a metal canister containing a grayish-silver marble-sized sphere. A certificate in the [deceased's] personal effects states that the sphere is Pu, and is a gift given in appreciation of the [deceased's] contributions to The Manhattan Project. Also included in the [deceased] personal effects is a piece of glass said to be from Atomic Bomb Testing. The Certificate is signed by Robert Oppenheimer. [The Estate Appraiser], contacted the ATF. The ATF Special Agent contacted the Bureau of Radiation Control (BRC) Duty Officer. A preliminary investigation is scheduled for Tuesday, May 22, 2018. Florida report # FL18-062.
Phone conversation with appraiser and son revealed the following: Deceased passed away years ago, and his wife, who has had her spouse's possessions since then, is moving from the Senior Center. Their son was given the name of an Estate Liquidator, to assess their belongings. The appraiser came across a metal shoe shine sized canister containing what he described as marble sized pellets and sandy glass, that had Plutonium marked on it. There also was a framed Reference letter addressed to the deceased from Robert Oppenheimer, thanking him for his contributions to The Manhattan Project. Unbeknownst to the son, the appraiser then contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) with his concerns. The son stated that the material in the canister was fused sand from the Trinity test site, and did not know why the appraiser was concerned about it. Florida report # FL18-062. Notified R1DO (Dimitriadis), IRD MOC (Pham), and NMSS Events Notification (email).
[Florida Bureau of Radiation Control] would like to update [NMED] item #180240, regarding the Manhattan Project memorabilia thought to be Plutonium: Lab Results 34.76 grams (spherical shape) 0.623 inches (15.82 mm) diameter Calculated density 16.75 g per cm3 (Uranium is 19.1), so this is some type of alloy. Analysis of spectra by DOE indicates natural uranium. Florida report # FL18-062. Notified R1DO (Jackson), IRD MOC (Grant), and NMSS Events Notification (email). |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| Not Applicable Orlando, Florida (NRC Region 1) | |
| Organization: | Florida Bureau Of Radiation Control |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+-54275.65 h-2,261.485 days <br />-323.069 weeks <br />-74.347 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Paul Norman 21:49 May 21, 2018 |
| NRC Officer: | Thomas Kendzia |
| Last Updated: | Jun 8, 2018 |
| 53415 - NRC Website | |
Not Applicable with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 534152018-05-21T04:00:00021 May 2018 04:00:00
[Table view]Agreement State Agreement State Report - Possible Plutonium Sphere Found ENS 451392009-05-22T04:00:00022 May 2009 04:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Radioactive Material Discovered in Scrap Metal ENS 447542008-11-03T05:00:0003 November 2008 05:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State - 5 Micro Curies of Radium-226 Found in Trash ENS 444272008-08-17T15:00:00017 August 2008 15:00:00 Agreement State Texas Agreement State Report - Surface Contamination at Lufthansa Cargo Facility ENS 440432008-03-06T17:30:0006 March 2008 17:30:00 Agreement State California Agreement State Report - Lost Licensed Material ENS 434612007-06-29T04:00:00029 June 2007 04:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State - Massachusetts - Deuterium Contaminated with Tritium Received by Non-Licensed Business 2018-05-21T04:00:00 | |