Radioactive material stolen in Kernersville, NCDHHS warns

KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is warning residents after someone stole an Industrial Radiography Camera containing radioactive material in Kernersville.

NCDHHS said someone took the SPEC-150 Industrial Radiography exposure camera from a pickup truck parked at the Sleep Inn motel on Heartland Drive late Wednesday night, Feb. 26, 2025. The owner discovered it missing the next morning. 

“Around seven o’clock in the morning, a Chevy sedan pulled in. It parked right next to a truck,” said Samir Patel, Sleep Inn hotel Manager. “The guy came out, he walked around and then he opened up the toolbox from the truck and he took the stuff and he was gone. It was less than a minute, I would say, a minute, minute, 30 seconds, and he was gone.”>

These cameras help inspect materials in industrial settings using radiation. Trained professionals know how to handle them safely, but mishandling the device could be dangerous.

Kernersville police said there is no immediate threat to the public, but authorities are urging anyone who sees this device — don’t touch it — just call the police. 

“And that’s just to error on the side of caution, because like you said, when people do see radiation, sometimes, you know, it kind of, things kind of heighten,” said Louis Brayboy, Section Chief for the North Carolina Department of Radiation Protection. “But because of how the device is shielded and, you know, the safety precautions that are intact with this device, that if they stay 30 feet away and make the call to 9-1-1 or to our agency, then they should be just fine.”

You can also call the NCDHHS Radiation Protection Section at 919-621-4797 if you have information about the stolen device.  

A SPEC-150 Industrial Radiography is used to inspect welds, gas and water pipelines, storage tanks, concrete, etc. It can identify cracks and flaws.

The device is used for testing in industrial settings, primarily to detect internal flaws or cracks in materials like welds, pipes, and structural components by exposing them to gamma radiation from a radioactive source. It is essentially a portable “radiography camera” that utilizes a sealed radioactive source like Iridium-192 to create an image revealing internal defects. 

Don Booth, the CEO of American Institute of Nondestructive Testing in Minnesota, said the camera is not easy to break into and that it is “well-shielded” in a titanium exterior. As for proper storage of the equipment, he said the cameras should be stored in a transportation case inside a locked vehicle equipped with an alarm system. The storage of the stolen camera is unclear.