Radioactive device lost near Jal located
Levi Hill/News-Sun
A pipeline inspection instrument containing radioactive elements that was lost near Jal on Friday has been located.
A $5,000 reward was offered for the return of the misplaced device, which New Mexico state police were searching for after it was lost near mile marker 35 on Highway 128 near Jal.
David Morgan, spokesman for the New Mexico Department of Health, said the device was located Monday and returned to the owner, Midland-based Acuren Industrial Services.
Acuren declined to comment when contacted about the lost device.
The device — known as a Sentinel Gamma-Ray Projector — is used in the non-destructive inspection of oilfield pipelines, according to the manufacturer’s website.
State police issued a press release over the weekend about the device, warning anyone who may have located it not to open it.
The projector houses Iridium-192 inside a titanium shell with a depleted uranium internal shield, which reduces exposure of the radioactive elements to the handler.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, low-dose exposure to Iridium-192 can increase the risk for cancer because of its high-energy gamma radiation. However, direct exposure can cause burns, acute radiation sickness and even death.
Victor Dricks, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said the NRC was aware of the lost device, but not involved in the matter. He added that gamma-ray projectors are not regulated by the NRC.
“It is a state matter, we have been given some information about it, but it is state officials spearheading all the activity out there,” he said.
There are more than 12,000 gamma-ray projectors in service worldwide of the type that was lost, according to the maker, QSA-Global.
A similar device belonging to a different company went missing in Houston in March, but it was unclear Monday if that device had been located.
It was also unclear Monday if state officials, Acuren employees or an individual located the device.
