MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. — State authorities are asking for help from the public in tracking down a portable nuclear gauge containing sealed sources of radioactive material that went missing last week in Montogomery County.
The equipment belongs to KAKS and Company LLC of Harleysville, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. It was being transported in a truck that was stolen in Philadelphia, the DEP said.
When the vehicle was recovered, the gauge was no longer inside and may have been discarded, according to the DEP. If the gauge is badly damaged or was struck by a vehicle, there is potential for damage to the radioactive source and spread of contamination.
“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.”
KAKS and Company LLC is licensed by DEP to possess and use the gauge. This type of nuclear gauge is commonly used to evaluate the properties of building and road-bed materials at construction sites throughout the commonwealth, the DEP said.
The radioactive material contained within the gauge is believed to be in a safe, shielded position, according to the DEP, but it may have been damaged after the theft of the vehicle.
The nuclear density gauge is a Troxler Model 3440, serial number 31109. The gauge is yellow in color and about the size of a shoe box, with an electronic keypad and a metal rod extending from the top surface, the DEP said.
The Troxler gauge contains approximately 8 millicuries of Cesium-137 and 40 millicuries of Americium-241. The radioactive material is in a double encapsulated source capsule within the device to protect its integrity, according to the DEP.
Anyone who finds the gauge should not handle it directly, but rather maintain distance, limit time of proximity, and immediately contact local authorities or the DEP’s Southeast Regional Office at 484-250-5900.
A trained individual will recover the gauge, the DEP said.
