The following was submitted by the
California Radiation Control Program via email:
Licensee reported the loss of a Troxler 4640-B # 1383, containing a sealed source of 8 mCi of Cs-137, on December 14, 2023, in the evening. Los Angeles (LA) County-Duty Officer took the initial call from the assistant radiation safety officer. The report was forwarded to LA County Radiation Management and the [State of California] Radiologic Health Branch-South. It was reported that the operator of the device drove only about one mile from the jobsite before realizing the gauge was not in his vehicle's enclosed camper-shell. The driver turned around to search for it and was unsuccessful. The LA County Sheriff's office was also contacted."
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