Officials Seek Missing Lead Paint Test Tool With Radioactive Material
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Maryland Department of the Environment is hoping to locate a lead paint test tool that contains radioactive material after the gauge disappeared from a work site in Baltimore.
A worker with 100% Lead Inspections, LLC was using the tool--identified as Viken Detection (formerly known as Heuresis), model pb200i XRF, serial number 2861--on the exterior of a property at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Laurens Street.
After placing the tool on the sidewalk to reposition his ladder, the worker reported the lead paint analyzer, which contains cobalt-57, was gone.
While the gauge does not present any hazards on its own, tampering with the device could lead to a potentially dangerous exposure, officials said.
The missing tool was reported to the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Baltimore Police Department, and the company checked local pawn shops.
The Lead Paint Analyzer is black, and is 7.8 inches tall by 6.7 inches long by 2.6 inches, wide, officials said. It weighs about 1.3 pounds, including batteries.
Anyone with information on the gauge should contact the Maryland Department of the Environment's Radiological Health Program at 866-633-4686, the police at 911, or to 100% Lead Inspections, at 410-804-8697. Officials warn that people shouldn't handle the device if they find it.
