Nuclear Device Stolen From Parked Car in Connecticut: Officials

The device was located hours later at a pawn shop

What to Know

  • The gauge contained sealed sources of radioactive cesium and americium
  • The radioactive elements don't pose any hazard to the public so long as they are shielded inside the gauge
  • The item was located at a pawn shop hours after it was reported missing

A radioactive gauge stolen from an engineering and testing company's office in Connecticut Tuesday was found hours later at a pawn shop, police say. 

The portable moisture-density gauge, which contained sealed sources of radioactive cesium and americium, was reported stolen from a vehicle parked outside the HAKS Material Testing Group offices in Bridgeport on Tuesday morning, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The agency said that it appears that someone broke into the trunk of the vehicle, cut chains holding the gauge and took the instrument, which 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.

The device was later located at a pawn shop in the town.

The radioactive elements don't pose any hazard to the public so long as they are shielded inside the gauge. But the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said people could be exposed to potentially dangerous radiation if the device were tampered with.

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