US
EPA Ecosystems Research Division
RSO called to state that a 15 milliCurie sealed source of
Ni-63 was misplaced. The last time an inventory was taken of this electron capture source was on 06/22/05, and was believed to have been used some time around 12/20/05. The source is used for chemical analysis in a Gas Chromatograph. The
RSO believes this source to be misplaced and not
stolen.
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.