New Jersey officials have rejected claims that drones were deployed to search for radioactive material missing from a shipping container, following speculation surrounding reports on social media. Mysterious drone sighting,
The shipment was a piece of medical equipment called a PIN source, which contains a radioactive component commonly used to calibrate PET scanners. The PIN source has since been recovered.
The rumor gained momentum online And Belleville Mayor Michael Melham echoed it Tuesday during InterviewThat's when he suggested that drones, which have been seen over several eastern states in recent weeks, could be involved in the search.
“In my opinion, they're looking for something,” Melham said. “There has just been an alert that radioactive material in New Jersey went missing on December 2nd. There was a shipment that had arrived at its destination. The container was damaged and was empty.”
Melham told CBS News he used the incident as an example of what drones might be looking for. “What I'm saying is that they're flying in a grid-like pattern, in my opinion, looking for something,” he said.
A spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection told CBS News that the material in question has been recovered and that the drones were not part of the recovery operation.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a Information to restrict Drone flights in nearly two dozen cities In New Jersey until January 17.
Claim of radioactive material missing in New Jersey
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a report On December 13, it said that medical equipment from Nazca Cancer Center in southern New Jersey “was lost in transit on December 2” when the shipping container “arrived damaged and empty at its destination.”
Kalman Rosenfeld, radiation site manager at Najaha Cancer Center, told CBS News that the equipment has arrived at a disposal facility in Knoxville, Tennessee.
According to the NJDEP, the shipment contained a small amount of germanium-68, which is a “very low level radiation source” that is allowed to be shipped via common carriers.
The department said the device was lost at a FedEx shipping facility before being found on Dec. 10, repackaged and shipped back to the manufacturer.
How did the theory spread online?
On December 14, John Ferguson, CEO of a Kansas-based unmanned aircraft systems manufacturer, said, Posted A TikTok video suggests that drones can detect gas leaks or radioactive material on the ground.
Podcast host Joe Rogan reposted the video Said“This is the first video about these drones that has me really concerned.”
Ferguson's video has been widely circulated on social media, drawing more and more people 30 million views X and engagement from thousands of users, with some users linking it to missing shipments.
However, Ferguson did not mention the shipping container, and he told CBS News that he was not aware of the shipment until after the video was made.
“I've heard about medical equipment that went missing in a shipping container,” Ferguson said. “I don't know much about it, but I do know that it's not a part of my videos or anything I've done so far.”
Government response to nuclear emergencies
A spokesperson for the National Nuclear Security Administration, an agency under the Energy Department that deals with the nuclear stockpile, told CBS News that the administration is not engaged in any operation Which involves radiological or nuclear hazards.
Additionally, their specialized Nuclear Emergency Support Team uses aircraft rather than drones to detect nuclear or radiological substances.
Researchers at the federal Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found Drones have the potential to detect low levels of radiation at survey sites, but more study is needed before the devices can be approved for use in decommissioning.
The FBI has received more than 5,000 reports of drone sightings in recent weeks joint statement Released Tuesday by the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, FAA and Defense Department.