A portable nuclear gauge containing sealed sources of radioactive material has been lost, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced on Friday, April 15. It belongs to KAKS and Company LLC, located in Harleysville (PA).
That’s why the DEP requests people’s assistance in the search for the gauge. If anyone finds it, that person should keep a safe distance from it, restrict their time nearby, and inform the local police or the DEP’s Southeast Regional Office at 484-250-5900 as soon as possible. Indeed, the gauge will be recovered by a trained individual.
“It is critical for anyone who has information about the lost nuclear gauge to contact local authorities or DEP,” DEP Bureau of Radiation Protection Director David Allard said. “As long as the device is not tampered with or damaged, it presents no hazard to public safety.”
Norristown, PA – DEP Urges Public to Report Missing Portable Nuclear Gauge:https://t.co/2vft9YSf9g pic.twitter.com/j17SOAL3jt
— PA Department of Environmental Protection (@PennsylvaniaDEP) April 15, 2022
A risky situation
The gauge had been secured in a vehicle stolen in Philly. It was missing from the vehicle when recovered, and it may have been discarded. There is a risk of harm to the radioactive source and contamination spread if the gauge is significantly damaged or struck by a vehicle.
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DEP has granted KAKS and Company LLC permission to possess and use the gauge. Construction sites around the Commonwealth commonly use this sort of nuclear gauge to assess the characteristics of building and road-bed materials. Initially, the radioactive material inside the gauge is thought to be in a safe, protected state. However, it’s possibly harmed as a result of the vehicle’s theft.
About the gauge
The nuclear density gauge is a Troxler Model 3440, serial number 31109. It’s yellow and about the size of a shoebox, with an electronic keypad and a metal rod protruding from the top surface. There are roughly 8 millicuries of Cesium-137 and 40 millicuries of Americium-241 in the Troxler gauge. Consequently, to maintain the device’s integrity, the radioactive material is contained within a double-encapsulated source capsule.
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