The following report was received from the
Texas Department of State Health Services (the Agency) via email:
On June 30, 2021, the Agency was notified by one of its General License Acknowledgement holders that it had determined that a Vega model SHLD1 nuclear gauge, containing 50 milliCuries of cesium-137, was missing and suspected stolen. The gauge had been mounted at a facility [in Kosse, TX] that was closed in 2019. The gauge is thought to have been stolen at some point after the facility closed.
Texas Incident Number: 9863
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