Radioactive device found after it disappeared from Garner work site

A device with a radioactive component, which could have posed a risk to health and safety, was recovered Friday morning after it disappeared from a construction site off Ten-Ten Road in Garner on Thursday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services says.

A construction worker returning to the site about 7 a.m. Friday said he had discovered the gauge had been left at the site Thursday evening and had put it in his car trunk for safe keeping.

The device is a gauge that uses radioactive material to test soil density at construction sites. It was being used by a private contractor at the McCuller’s Walk Apartments site at 500 Shady Summit Way.

Its disappearance was reported to DHHS about 8 p.m. Thursday.

DHHS radiation experts took radiation readings of the gauge after it was recovered Friday, and they were normal, the department said. The gauge appeared to have no damage, and DHHS said no member of the public had been endangered.

The gauge could have posed a threat to health or safety only if it were mishandled or broken open, the department said.

The device will be sent to the manufacturer, Instrotek Inc., for testing, and DHHS radiation officials will continue to look into the incident.

This story was originally published August 25, 2017 at 6:17 AM with the headline "Radioactive device found after it disappeared from Garner work site."