On January 12, 2012, the Agency [Texas Department of State Health Services] was notified by the licensee that a
Troxler Model 3430 moisture/density
gauge (SN 39547) containing 40 millicuries of
americium-241 and 8 millicuries of
cesium-137 had been
stolen that morning at approximately 0900 hrs.
CST from one of its vehicles while it was parked at a convenience store in McKinney,
Texas. The
gauge was secured in the bed of the pickup truck with two chains. While the licensee's technician was inside the store, both chains were cut and the
gauge removed. Local law enforcement was notified. The Agency notified the
Texas Association of Pawnbrokers. More information will be provided as it is obtained.
Texas Incident # I-8918
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
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