Stolen nuclear gauge found in local pawn shop

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10:35 PM EDT on Saturday, October 30, 2004

Reported by: Craig Civale

A potentially dangerous nuclear gauge which was stolen in Norfolk has been found.

The device, a moisture density gauge used to take ground measurements by projecting radiation into the ground, was stolen from a pickup truck in a Wal-Mart parking lot on Military Highway last month, according to police.

courtesy troxlerlabs.com

The Troxler 3430 uses radiation to measure moisture density.

13News has learned that the suspect sold the device to a Norfolk pawn shop for $30. The gauge is worth $30,000.

Mitchell Dunbar, owner of Superior Pawn and Gun Shop, called WVEC-TV Friday morning after seeing 13News reports about the theft of the device. WVEC newsroom personnel verified information about the stolen item and referred the owner to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Later Friday morning, federal and local law enforcement personnel recovered the device.

Dunbar said he didn't know what to make of the device, which includes a foot-long shielding container and a handle on top.Until watching the report on 13News Daybreak, Dunbar said he had no idea the item had been stolen and contained radioactive material.

"The last thing I expected coming through these doors was a radioactive measuring device," Dunbar said. "I'm more concerned about people bringing loaded guns into the store."

The device was sold at Superior's Norfolk location, but the owner took the item to his store on Virginia Beach Boulevard in Virginia Beach, where it was recovered by authorities.

A suspect is being sought by police. A grand larceny warrant has been issued for Richard Lawrence Danes.

Raja El-Awar, chief engineer at Newport News-based Foundation Engineering Science, Inc., which owns the gauge, said that the device could be dangerous if mishandled. "They would be hurting themselves before hurting another person, there would be radiation damage to you, in a week you would not be able to do anything, if you had touched it."

El-Awar says the the device was not tampered with. But it might not have been stolen in the first place if the worker locked it up.

"My employee did not lock the chain with a padlock… which is against the rules," said El-Awar. He says his worker lied to him about the device being missing. It wasn't until a week later that he found out. That employee has been let go.

"I've learned a big lesson, and am taking more precautions, to scan employees more carefully," he said.

The worker said the device was stolen from his company pickup truck while he was shopping at a Norfolk Wal-Mart on Oct. 18, the commission said.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is trying to find out "why the device would be allowed to be stolen in the first place," said Neil Sheehan, an agency spokesman. "It either has to be under surveillance or has to be locked up. Neither was occurring." Sheehan said the company may be fined.

Two individuals were seen on a security videotape taking the device and driving off in a blue car about 10 a.m. that day, the commission said.

The Troxler Model 3430 nuclear gauge takes measurements by projecting the radiation from two radioactive sources into the ground. The device is made up of a shielding container with a handle on top that is used to extend and retract the sources from the shielded position.

Norfolk PD

Richard L. Danes is wanted for grand larceny for allegedly stealing the nuclear device from a truck in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

As long as the sources are in the shielded position, the gauge isn't hazardous, Sheehan said. But if the sources are tampered with, they could expose the person to radiation. Handling the unshielded sources outside the container could carry a risk of potentially dangerous radiation exposure.

The containers are difficult to open and a person would need to be in close contact with one to be at risk of radiation, Sheehan said.

About 300 nuclear devices, including several similar to the gauge taken, are stolen in the United States every year. About half are recovered, Sheehan said.

Sheehan said he was told the employee who lost the device has been dismissed.

Asked why the commission waited three days to go public about the lost device, Sheehan said the company promised to take the matter to local authorities. The commission then decided to announce the missing gauge itself, he said.

Meanwhile, Dunbar said Foundation Engineering didn't reimburse him for the $30 he paid for device, which is actually worth between $8,000 and $10,000.

"That really irritated me," Dunbar said. "But (the company) probably has bigger problems with the NRC, and I'll contribute that to (its) legal defense fund."

Associated Press also contributed to this report.