UPDATE: Stolen Radioactive Testing Gauge Reportedly Found

Updated at 5:02 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26, 2016: The nuclear testing device stolen in Bridgeport earlier today has reportedly been found.

WTNH-TV writes that the Troxler 3440 Nuclear Dosimeter, stolen from a HAKS Material Testing Group technician's truck, was found at the East Coast Pawn shop on Glenwood Avenue in Bridgeport.

Bridgeport police say they have a suspect in custody, but that individual's identity has not yet been released.

The device, which had been secured by locked chains, was reportedly stolen from the parked vehicle on Douglas Street sometime before 7 a.m. on Tuesday.

Original story: BRIDGEPORT, CT — A device used to test for nuclear material was reported stolen from a vehicle in Bridgeport early Tuesday, and it is considered a serious enough breach that the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued an alert.

The equipment, known as a portable moisture-density gauge, which contains "sealed sources of radioactive material," is owned by Bridgeport-based HAKS Material Testing Group, according to the NRC. The device was stolen from a parked technician’s vehicle.

"The vehicle’s trunk was broken into, chains securing the gauge in place were cut and it was removed," states the NRC.

The commission added that the gauge is stored in a "robust transportation case, [which] consists of a shielding container with a plunger-type handle protruding from the top."

"The handle is used to extend and then retract the radioactive sources from the shielded position. When not in use, the handle is normally locked, with the sources in the retracted, safely shielded position. The rectangular base of the gauge is yellow."

Inside the device are small amounts of cesium-137 and americium-241, which are radioactive.

"As long as the sources are in the shielded position, the gauge would present no hazard to the public," according to the NRC. "However, any attempt to tamper with the radioactive sources in the device could subject the person to radiation exposure. Handling of the unshielded sources outside their container would carry a risk of potentially dangerous radiation exposure."

The gauge is used to make measurements "by projecting the radiation from the two radioactive sources into the ground and then displaying the reflected radiation on a dial on its top."

According to the Connecticut Post, the vehicle that contained the device was parked near a residence on Douglas Street and the device was stolen at about 7 a.m.

"Anyone seeing the gauge should leave it alone and report its location to the NRC’s Operations Center at (301) 816-5100," writes the NRC. "The center is staffed 24 hours a day and accepts collect calls. An NRC inspector will be sent to the company’s offices to gather more information on the loss of the gauge."

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