Pipeline subcontractor retrieves lost radioactive material from Pedernales

A camera with radioactive material was recovered after being lost in the Pedernales River. The Texas Department of State Heath Service said on Sunday that no radiation was released during the incident.

A radiographic camera is an industrial device commonly used in the oil and gas industry that contains radioactive material. The camera, owned by Shawcor, which is reportedly a Kinder Morgan subcontractor working on the Permian Highway Pipeline, went missing when a truck with a slide-in camper containing a mobile darkroom was swept away in the floodwaters of the Pedernales River southeast of Fredericksburg. The radioactive material is sealed within multiple layers of protection, and the risk of exposure is very low, according to the Texas Department of State health Service.

The camera was reported missing on Friday and found on Sunday about 10 miles downstream near Stonewall. The camera was whole and contained in its protective steel overpack box with no release of radiation.

The Texas Department of State Health Services, which licenses radioactive materials and equipment, is investigating the incident to determine whether there were violations of state laws or rules and will take appropriate enforcement action.