UPDATE: Authorities Still Searching for Missing Container that Houses Radioactive Device

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Published on October 27 2015 11:17 am
Written by Wayne Moran

A Fairfield company is still searching for a missing piece of equipment, one that houses a radioactive device.

The 'well logging source holder', went missing on Friday, October 16, prompting an alert from officials and sparking an 18-county search.

We contacted Wayne County Well Services, Inc. Tuesday morning and were told that the device hasn't been located yet. The company refused to answer additional questions.

From our original report: The locked steel container, which houses the well logging source holder, was last known to be in a company vehicle. This source holder is part of a larger tool used to assess geological formations in oil and gas, groundwater, mineral and geothermal exploration. The steel container is silver in color, 12 inches high and 14 inches in diameter. It weighs about 75 lbs. The container is labeled on two sides as 'DOT RADIOACTIVE YELLOW II' with the radiation trefoil symbol, and the manufacturer's name, 'Hopewell Designs, Inc.,' is on its base.

The inner source holder is about 4 inches long and 2 inches wide and is labeled as 'DANGER RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL, DO NOT HANDLE, NOTIFY CIVIL AUTHORITIES.'

The missing source holder, owned by Wayne County Well Surveys, Inc., of Fairfield, Illinois, has triggered an 18-county search. The Illinois State Police and Illinois Department of Transportation assisted with the search on Friday after the device was reported missing. The search is focused in Clay, Cumberland, Edwards, Effingham, Franklin, Hamilton, Jasper, Jefferson, Macon, Marion, Moultrie, Richland, Shelby, Wabash, Wayne and White counties in Illinois and Gibson and Pike counties in Indiana.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has categorized sources in five categories, with categories 1 and 2 being the most dangerous and requiring increased controls. The missing source, which is housed within two robust containers, is an IAEA category 3 source. If un-shielded and not safely managed or securely protected, exposure to the source could cause permanent injury to a person who handled it or who was otherwise in contact with it.