The State provided the following information via facsimile:
Reported vandalism of Tritium Exit sign located in the North Parking Structure on campus. Sign was broken open and tritium tubes removed. Police were notified. Estimated activity 12 Ci. No contamination present on wipes of area. Licensee notified all departments of the theft via a safety advisory.
As of 09/20/07 the tritium tubes have not been recovered. A 30 day reporting requirement [is being issued] because it was considered that an exposure would be highly unlikely from this incident. Since the tubes from the sign appeared to be intact when they were removed from the sign (no contamination on wipes) the radiation exposure to the individual is assumed to be zero. The licensee will be replacing all the tritium exit signs with non-radioactive exit signs by November 30, 2007.
CA Report # 082207
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.
This source is not amongst those sources or devices identified by the
IAEA Code of Conduct for the Safety & Security of Radioactive Sources to be of concern from a radiological standpoint. Therefore is it being categorized as a less than Category 3 source