(Newswire.net — July 27, 2016) — Bridgeport, Connecticut – Nuclear material has been found in a pawnshop after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a warning, FOX61 reports.
The commission warned that the instrument for measuring ground radioactivity is radioactive itself and “potentially dangerous radiation exposure.”
HAKS Material Testing Group reported that the device was stolen from a technician’s vehicle parked in Bridgeport, Tuesday morning. Same afternoon, Bridgeport police recovered the device from East Coast Pawn in Bridgeport. One person connected to the incident was arrested.
The NRC said the stolen measuring device contains small amounts of cesium-137 and americium-241,and is worth about $7,000. It’s “street” value, however, is $0 due to its specific use and danger of misuse.
“The gauge is used to make measurements by projecting the radiation from the two radioactive sources into the ground and then displaying the reflected radiation on a dial on its top,” said the NRC in its alert – “Nuclear Gauge Reported Stolen in Connecticut, Recovery is Sought.”
The radioactive material is sealed and protected inside the device, the NRC explained. However, if the device is damaged, it could leak the radioactive material.
“Handling of the unshielded sources outside their container would carry a risk of potentially dangerous radiation exposure,” said the NRC.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission added in its warning that if found, the nuclear measuring device should be left alone and its location reported to the police.
According to the Bridgeport Police, beside the instrument for measuring ground radioactivity, the technician also reported his debit card stolen. The police reported this card was used near Walgreens. The suspect was captured on surveillance video while using the card.
The incident prompted an investigation on whether sensitive and potentially dangerous tools should be left unprotected in technician’s vehicles overnight.
Even though the case was clearly marked with the recognisable radioactive hazard label, this was not enough to deter the thieves from taking it, on the contrary, it made them misjudge the value of the contents.
