Police have found a radioactive device that was stolen from a parked car in Connecticut, officials said Tuesday evening.
The nuclear gauge, which is used to measure soil density at construction sites, was discovered at a pawn shop, Bridgeport Police Public Information Officer Av Harris told The Huffington Post.
“We got a call from this pawn shop this afternoon, saying, ‘we think we have your device, someone’s trying to sell it,’” Harris said.
Police have a suspect in custody, he added.
The Connecticut Environmental Protection Agency and local police are on the scene investigating. It’s currently unclear whether the device has been tampered with.
The gauge belongs to HAKS Material Testing Group. It was chained up inside a technician’s vehicle outside his home early Tuesday morning, police said.
“The reason that we’re so concerned, from a law enforcement angle, is that if this piece of equipment is manipulated a certain way, it could cause a danger to the public,” Bridgeport Police Captain Brian Fitzgerald said at an afternoon press conference.
The gauge contains small, sealed amounts of radioactive isotopes americium-241 and cesium-137, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Americium-241, or Am-241, is commonly used to measure density and thickness in certain medical, industrial and commercial devices, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“When Am-241 powder is swallowed, absorbed through a wound, or inhaled it can stay in the body for decades,” the CDC states on its website.
The CDC says cesium-137, or Cs-137, is commonly used in medical radiation therapy devices for treating cancer, as well as in industrial devices that detect material thickness and liquid movement. External exposure can cause burns, acute radiation sickness and death.
Exposure to either Am-241 or Cs-137 may increase a person’s risk of developing cancer, according to the CDC.
The thief also stole the employee’s debit card, Fitzgerald said.
The card was used at two locations on Tuesday morning. Surveillance video captured it being used at a Walgreens Redbox, police said.
This article has been updated to reflect that the device was found.
