CANOGA PARK : Reward Offered for Isotope Lost in Mail
A $300 reward is being offered for the return of a package containing a mildly radioactive tracer isotope that was lost in the mail Wednesday somewhere between Canoga Park and the Conejo Valley.
“Someone attempted to make a delivery, but the recipient said it never got there,” said Kim S. Wong of the Department of Health Services’ radiologic health branch.
Officials said that the health risk of exposure to the isotope is “negligible,” but they ask that anyone who finds the package leave it alone and notify the department of the package’s location.
The sealed container holds an isotope known as chromium-51, and was shipped in a package about the size of a shoe box. The package has two four-inch yellow stickers on it labeled: “Radioactive II, Cr-51.”
Wong said neither the deliverer nor the recipient wanted to reveal their identities.
“Neither side wants this to reflect poorly on their public image. They both felt rather strongly about it,” he said. “They’ve looked every which way, spent two full days and many hours in search of it, but they just can’t find it. That’s why they asked us to publicize the reward.”
Radioactive tracer isotopes are used in medical research, such as DNA analysis. The isotopes help researchers trace the development of tissue cultures, among other uses, Wong said.
Anyone seeing the box should contact the Office of Emergency Services at (800) 852-7550, or the Department of Health Services at (213) 580-5715.
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