ENS 42009
ENS Event | |
|---|---|
21:30 Sep 22, 2005 | |
| Title | California Agreement State Report: Missing/Stolen Troxler Moisture Density Gauge |
| Event Description | The Riverside County gauge operator at the Jefferson Street Bridge Construction site located in La Quinta, CA was called to a meeting with the on-site construction inspector. The gauge operator placed a Troxler Model # 3440 moisture density gauge unsecured into the back of his open bed pickup truck with its tail gate down. The gauge handle was not locked, not in its case and not placed in a metal shipping case attached to the bed of the pickup truck. The gauge operator did not placed a cover over the gauge. He drove 1.75 miles to where he met with the on-site construction inspector and a water district official. He talked with them between 8 to 10 minutes. After he completed talking with them he found that the gauge was not in the back of the pickup truck. It either fell out of the back of the pickup truck or it was stolen while he was talking. Three different people retraced the route that he had taken several times without finding the gauge. A police report was made with the La Quinta Police, report number 0509-4479. The Riverside County Transportation Department was instructed to make a press release and offer a $500 reward for the missing gauge. Also the press release instructs people not to touch the gauge and to call the police if they find the gauge.
The Troxler gauge contains 8 millicuries of Cs-137 and 40 millicuries of Am-241/Be. The gauge was last leak checked in June of 2005.
The activity of the Cs-137 is 9 millicuries instead of 8 millicuries and the activity of the Am-241/Be is 44 millicuries instead of 40 millicuries. R4DO (B. Spitzberg), NMSS (Bill Reamer) notified. E-mailed to Mexican Govt Rep and NRC TAS.
The State reported that the licensee has recovered the gauge from the Police Department in Indio California. The police apparently found the gauge in a warehouse along with other stolen items and traced the gauge back to the licensee through its stolen items database. The gauge is intact and was found with the source in the retracted position. As stated in the original report, the gauge was not in its case. The licensee has taken possession if the gauge and will have the gauge leak tested and examined by a Troxler representative. R4DO (Cain) and FSME (Morell) notified. ILTAB & Mexico notified by e-mail. Less than the quantity of a IAEA Category 3 source. 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. For some of these sources, such as moisture density gauges or thickness gauges that are IAEA 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. |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| Riverside County Transportation Dept. La Quinta, California (NRC Region 4) | |
| License number: | 1630-33 |
| Organization: | California Radiation Control Prgm |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+-1.53 h-0.0638 days <br />-0.00911 weeks <br />-0.0021 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Mark M. Gottlieb 19:58 Sep 22, 2005 |
| NRC Officer: | John Mackinnon |
| Last Updated: | Apr 5, 2007 |
| 42009 - NRC Website | |
Riverside County Transportation Dept. with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 420092005-09-22T21:30:00022 September 2005 21:30:00
[Table view]Agreement State California Agreement State Report: Missing/Stolen Troxler Moisture Density Gauge 2005-09-22T21:30:00 | |