CBRN event in Meurthe-et-Moselle, Longwy area, France on Fri 3rd January 2014

ASN is informed on 3 January 2013 that a fractured coffer containing a device with a radiological source was found by people walking on the city walls. The people signaled it and a specialist fire department unit responded. The coffer had been stolen "a few days ago" from a commercial cabinet which used this source to evaluate lead levels in houses. The discovery mobilized the intervention of a specialized team of firefighters who identified the item in the box as a portable analysis device used for detecting the presence of lead in house paints. The examination done by the team confirmed that the radioactive source and its protection system were neither tampered with nor altered. The state of the device allowed for any risk to be ruled out concerning those who were in its immediate vicinity.