Radioactive gauge stolen from business

A moisture density gauge containing radioactive material that was being stored in a yellow, trunk-sized transport case has been stolen from a Hot Springs business, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.

The gauge transport case is about the size and shape of a trunk and is made of a hard, yellow plastic with handles on each end and the top. The gauge itself is also yellow with a rectangular base and a foot-long handle on top. Both are clearly labeled as radioactive. The gauge and transport case weighs 85 to 95 pounds, the health department said in a news release.

The device contains shielding and is not dangerous if it remains intact, but could present a radiation hazard if it is damaged and the radioactive sources are exposed or removed from the sealed container.

Anyone finding the gauge should immediately report it to a law enforcement agency or call 800-6331735 or 501-661-2173 and ask for the radiation staff duty officer.

The gauge is described as a Troxler Electronic Laboratories Model 3440, Serial Number 15160.

It contains about 8 millicuries of cesium-137 and 40 millicuries of americium-241. It is used to take mois-

ture and density measurements by projecting radiation from the two radioactive sources into the ground and then displaying the amount of radiation reflected back to the gauge.

The business was not identified in the release, which also did not provide details about the theft as far as time and location.

The health department was notified of the theft Tuesday, spokesman Meg Mirivel told Arkansas Online. Details on when the device was stolen and the business it was taken from were not immediately released.

State police, local government officials and law enforcement agencies, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management have also been notified, the release said. “Although the gauge poses a potential public health risk, it does not contain sufficient material to be used for any explosive device,” it said.

Submitted photos GAUGE STOLEN: The Arkansas Department of Health on Wednesday released these photographs of a radioactive moisture density gauge and its transport case, which were stolen from an unidentified Hot Springs business.