DEP and PSP urge the public to report the missing portable nuclear measuring device | News, sports, jobs

Troxler Electronic Laboratories, Inc. A Troxler Model 3340 portable nuclear meter. A similar meter owned by CMT Laboratories disappeared in Clinton County on Wednesday, October 13, 2021. Contact Pennsylvania State Police Lamar Barracks at 570-726-6000 with information. CMT Laboratories is offering a $ 1,000 reward for returning the meter safely.

WILLIAMSPORT – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Pennsylvania State Police are assisting the search for a missing portable nuclear meter with sealed sources of radioactive material owned by Pennsylvania-based CMT Laboratories. The company is offering a $ 1,000 reward for returning safely.

Anyone who finds the measuring device should not handle it directly, but keep their distance, limit the time in proximity and immediately contact the State Police in Lamar at (570) 726-6000. A trained person will restore the meter.

“For anyone who has information about the lost nuclear measuring device, it is important to contact the state police immediately.” The director of the DEP Bureau for Radiation Protection, David Allard, said. “As long as the device is not tampered with or damaged, it does not pose a threat to public safety.”

The meter was reported missing by the company on Wednesday, October 13th. The authorized user of the measuring device finished his work around 6 p.m. and accidentally left the construction site without properly securing the measuring device in his case. The vehicle was leaving the construction site near E. Valley Road, Logan Township, Clinton County and was heading for Loganton when the loss of the gauge was discovered.

If the measuring device is badly damaged or hit by a vehicle, there is a risk of contamination.

CMT Laboratories is licensed by DEP to own and use the meter. This type of nuclear gauge is widely used to assess the properties of building materials on construction sites across the Commonwealth. It is assumed that the radioactive material in the meter is in a safe, shielded position. However, it may have been damaged if it fell from the transport vehicle.

The core density meter is a Troxler Model 3440. The meter is yellow in color and about the size of a shoebox, with an electronic keyboard and a metal stick extending from the top surface. The Troxler meter contains approximately nine millicuries of cesium-137 and 44 millicuries of americium-241. The radioactive material is double encapsulated in the device to protect its integrity.

Anyone who finds the measuring device should not handle it directly, but keep their distance, limit the time in proximity and immediately contact the State Police in Lamar at (570) 726-6000. A trained person will restore the meter.

Further information on the DEP’s Office for Radiation Protection can be found at https://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/RadiationProtection/Pages/default.aspx.

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