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Radioactive device reported missing from Garner job site found

A radioactive device was reported missing on Thursday night from a Garner job site, according to North Carolina Radiation Protection officials.

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Radioactive device reported missing from Garner job site
WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — A radioactive device reported missing on Thursday night from a Garner job site was found Friday morning when a worker returned it, according to North Carolina Radiation Protection officials.

The device uses radioactive materials to test soil density during construction, officials said. The worker said he had put the device in his car trunk after finding it left behind at the work site off Ten-Ten Road.

Radiation officials checked the worker's trunk and took radiation readings of the gauge and found them to be normal. The radioactive sources remained shielded.

The gauge was not damaged and was returned to the licensee to be sent to the manufacturer for testing, officials said.

"An initial investigation indicates no member of the public was endangered while the device was missing," the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release.

Radiation officials shifted from a recovery operation to a compliance investigation.

Officials said the device went missing from a private contractor at the McCuller's Walk Apartment job site at 500 Shady Summit Way. The disappearance was reported to the health department around 8 p.m.

The gauge has a stainless steel handle sticking out of the top and a radiation symbol on the handle. A description of the material appears on a plate attached to the outside of the gauge, and each source of radioactive material is sealed in a stainless steel capsule.

Officials said the gauge poses no immediate threat to health or safety unless it is mishandled or broken open.

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