Re: stolen source recovered

["Gerald Nicholls" <Gerald.Nicholls@dep.state.nj.us>]

Seems as though I have to get caught up on units, measuring capabilities

and threshold levels for emergency response.  Evidently we're now

capable of measuring "0.002 microrems of radioactivity" and that a

"prompt evacuation"  is necessary at "0.25 microrem."  I guess I get to

go home early.



Gerald Nicholls

NJ Dept. Env. Protection





>>> "Franta, Jaroslav" <frantaj@AECL.CA> 08/08/03 08:57AM >>>

FYI, courtesy of a colleague....



Jaro 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^



Toronto Star  Aug. 8, 2003. 01:00 AM 

Radioactive device raises alarm, but ends up OK

DALE ANNE FREED

STAFF REPORTER



A radioactive device that police found in a North York bus shelter has

been

returned to the Mississauga company that reported it stolen three years

ago.





The industrial tool, which is used to measure concrete and asphalt

density,

was reported to police early yesterday when it was found in a bus

shelter on

the west side of Leslie St. at York Mills Rd. 



Police closed Leslie St. between York Mills Rd. and Lawrence Ave. E.

from

2:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. while an emergency task force robotic device

inspected the tool to make sure it wasn't a bomb. The police then

called in

an inspector from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to determine

the

area was safe. 



The radiation emitted by the device was "at an acceptable level ...

less

than what you'd get from an X-ray for a broken arm," said police

Sergeant

Darren Berezowski . 



The square metal device, about 30 centimetres square, was found in its

orange case, which displayed chemical markings. It registered .002

microrems

of radioactivity, an emission far below the .25 microrem level that

would

prompt an evacuation due to radioactive risk, said police spokesperson

Constable Shehara Valles. 



Police were tipped off by an anonymous caller to Crime Stoppers at 2

a.m.

yesterday.

- - - - - - - - 



Toronto Star: Aug. 7, 2003. 11:56 AM 

Suspicious package emits trace radioactivity



A package emitting trace amounts of radioactivity was discovered at a

Leslie

Street bus stop today, sending two police officers to hospital as a

precaution and sparking an investigation by the Canadian Nuclear

Safety

Commission. 

Police found the package after an anonymous tip about a mysterious box

found

in a black garbage bag with chemical markings on it, discovered in the

northeast end of the city. 



The two officers who first arrived on the scene were taken to hospital

as a

precautionary measure. 



"They haven't sustained injuries," said Const. Shehara Valles. 



A few blocks were cordoned off for several hours, but there was no risk

to

the community as the package only emitted a trace radioactivity

reading,

Valles said. 



Officials from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission arrived at the

scene

and identified the box as a device that measures rock and asphalt

density. 



It was stolen from Amec Earth and Environmental Ltd. in Brampton, Ont.

on

Nov. 16, 2001, said commission spokesman Michel Cleroux. 



He stressed that it posed no danger to the public. 



"As it was found, those rates are normal," Cleroux said of the

radioactivity

reading. "We checked and it's not leaking." 



The device was returned to the company. 

=========================

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