Missing Radioactive Material, Truck Found

Astolen pickup truck with a device containing low-level radioactive material was found abandoned Thursday night near Sylmar, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. The material, encased in a thick steel cage, had not leaked, authorities said.

Police and firefighters temporarily closed off a three-block area around the site where the red Mazda was found, at Alexander Street and Gladstone Avenue in the Sylmar Square area.

There was no threat to residents, and there were no plans for an evacuation, Los Angeles Fire Department Assistant Chief Allan Schroeder said. Schroeder said tests showed no signs of radioactivity in the area. Low level radioactivity was found only in the truck bed, he said.

A hazardous materials team and at least eight fire engines arrived at the scene after a resident reported the abandoned truck to police, authorities said.

The truck was stolen Tuesday from a parking lot in Granada Hills, said Rasol Khiabani, chief engineer for the Valencia office of Leighton and Associates, a geo-technical consulting firm which owns the truck.

The gauge containing the radioactive material is used to test soil moisture and density, Khiabani said. He said the cage could only be opened with a special tool owned by the manufacturer.