The following was received from the
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services via email:
Mid-State Engineering and Testing (MSET) reported the loss and recovery of a moisture/density gauge (CPN International MC Series) that contained a 1.85 GBq (50 mCi) Am-Be source and a 0.37 GBq (10 mCi) Cs-137 source. The gauge was initially believed to have been lost on July 2, 2019, somewhere between Aurora and Columbus, Nebraska, on a route that included Highways 14 and 30. The driver reported that approximately 1.5 miles west of the Highway 30 and Highway 81 intersection he had to forcefully apply the truck brakes to avoid a collision. The gauge was locked inside of a transportation case and secured to the truck with a lock and chain. When the brakes were applied, the transportation case handle was pulled out of the case and the tailgate of the truck fell open. When the truck accelerated after stopping at the intersection of Highways 30 and 81, the transportation case fell out of the vehicle. MSET attempted to locate the gauge without success.
Nebraska State Patrol, Nebraska Department of Roads, Columbus Police Department and Platte County Sheriffs Department were notified. The gauge was found by a member of the public on July 2, 2019. The member of the public contacted MSET on July 2, 2019, and the gauge was retrieved by MSET. The handle on the locked transportation case was damaged. The gauge inside did not appear to be damaged. The Nebraska Office of Radiological Health is investigating.
Nebraska State Report # 190003
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