Police seeking stolen radioactive device used for soil testing

The device belongs to B&W Engineering Laboratories Inc., according to a news release from Memphis Police. It was stolen sometime between midnight Saturday and Monday morning.

The equipment, which is housed in a 48-quart yellow cooler with radiation warning stickers on the outside, is safe if left intact. But if the internal radioactive element is exposed, police said, it can be fatal to exposed people within 30 minutes. The field of radioactivity is about 60 feet.

The actual device is yellow, about the size of a shoe box, with two foot-long steel probes and a handle on top.

Police warned anyone who spots the device to contact emergency officials or a hazardous materials team.