CBRN event in Pennsylvania, York area, United States of America on Fri 6th December 2013

On December 6, 2013, a radiation alarm sounded at Modern Landfill in York, Pennsylvania. After inspection, the health physics consultant determined that two bare MO99 generator cores caused the alarm. An activity of 18 Ci was recorded on the labels of the MO99 generators for October 29, 2013 and November 6, 2013, with expiration dates of November 12, 2013 and November 19, 2013. Investigators discovered that the MO99 generators were missing, possibly stolen, from Cardinal Health, a Pennsylvania nuclear pharmacy licensee, for scrap lead shielding. The inspector believed that the MO99 generators were stolen after their expiration date, and therefore would have a decayed activity of 510 mCi, which is 1,000 times greater than the quantity specified in 10 CFR 20 Appendix C for M99.