The following information is a summary of the report provided by the
Maine Radiation Control Program (
Maine RCP) via email:
At 0856 EDT, on September 4, 2025, the radiation safety officer (RSO) for the University of Maine Orono contacted the Maine RCP and reported that a tritium exit sign located underneath the UMaine Orono stadium bleachers was discovered to be missing. The current activity would be approximately 17.5 Ci due to decay.
The RSO contacted the members of the University of Maine Facilities Maintenance department, as well as contractors working on site, and it was relayed that heavy construction had been occurring in the facility during the last two months, and that the sign may have been damaged during cleaning. It was surmised that the sign was likely disposed of in the trash, but this could not be directly confirmed by anyone. The RSO will continue to gather additional information that will be included in a written report to be submitted within 30 days.
NMED event notification - ME 2025-005
Model: SRB Technologies Betalux-E/BX
Serial Number: C196983
Source: 21.6 Ci H3
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