Radioactive material went missing in New Jersey earlier this month, fueling conspiracy theories that it could be linked to the mysterious drone sightings.
A piece of medical equipment used for cancer scans was shipped from the Nazha Cancer Center in Newfield on December 2 for disposal, but the ‘shipping container arrived at its destination damaged and empty.’
The device, known as a ‘pin source,’ contained a small amount of Germanium-68 (Ge-68) that is used to calibrate a medical scanner’s accuracy. If handled without proper gear, it can cause radiation poisoning.
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued an alert for the missing shipment deemed ‘less than a Category 3,’ meaning it could cause permanent injury if mishandled.
The danger with losing track of radioactive material is that they can be used to build bombs.
But experts have suggested that malicious actors would likely use more potent materials than what was lost in New Jersey.
The missing medical equipment has led many on social media to speculate that the drones flying over New Jersey may be the government trying to ‘sniff out’ radioactive material.
John Ferguson, the CEO of Saxon Aerospace, a drone manufacturer in Kansas, said that the only reason drones are flown at night is because they are ‘looking for something.’
The device is known as a ‘pin source’ which contains a small amount of radiation to calibrate the scanner’s accuracy. If handled without proper gear, it can cause radiation poisoning
The missing medical equipment has led many on social media to speculate that the drones flying over New Jersey may be the government trying to ‘sniff out’ radioactive material
‘My own guess is that these drones are not nefarious in intent. If they are, they are, but I doubt it,’ Ferguson said in a TikTok video.
‘But if they are drones, the only reason why they would be flying, and flying that low, is because they’re trying to smell something on the ground.’
Instances of missing radioactive material in the US are rare and typically involve small quantities used in industrial or medical applications.
The most recent was in 2023 when the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas reported that 10 radioactive seeds used for breast cancer scans had been stolen.
The previous instance happened in 2021 when a nuclear moisture density gauge containing radioactive material was reported missing in Durham, North Carolina.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported in 2020 that the most common reason for stealing radioactive material was ‘a likely act of trafficking or malicious use.’
Abel Gonzalez, former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency division of Radiation said: ‘When radioactive sources are used for diagnostic purposes — notably in nuclear medicine procedures — the amount of radioactivity used is small and again does not present an evident security threat.
‘However, there is increasing apprehension that radioactive sources could be turned into a terrorist tool — what [is sometimes call] a ‘dirty bomb.”
The report comes as theories suggests the drones in New Jersey are ‘sniffers’ looking for gamma rays on the ground. But officials have not confirmed the claims
The missing material in New Jersey contained about 0.267 millicuries (mCi) of Ge-68.
The material emits low-energy gamma radiation, making it useful for calibration purposes in medical equipment.
The average person receives 2-3 millisieverts (mSv) of radiation per year from natural sources such as the sun.
A source emitting 0.267 mCi could produce radiation exposure similar to a few extra days of background radiation, which could cause breathing problems, nausea or vomiting and a higher risk of cancer in the future.
NRC’s alert does not provide specifics on the dangers, but less than a Category 3 suggests the material poses a low risk, but may still be hazardous during prolonged exposure.
But there is also the possibility that the radioactive material missing in New Jersey was damaged during transit or the individual who took it did not know what it was.
Ferguson admitted in his video that he had no verification for this and was just offering his opinion – alongside the hundreds of concerned drone spotters and locals.
His company, Saxon Unmanned, describes itself as a ‘manufacturer of long endurance, custom remote aircraft systems with over 25 years of experience in solution development for global air and sea applications.’
He is a military veteran who claims over 25 years of experience in his field.
Reports of drones in New Jersey began mid-November with sightings over a military base and Donald Trump’s gulf course
Ferguson’s theory has gone viral after a day of establishment politicians trying to calm fears about drones.
Podcaster Joe Rogan also shared the video saying: ‘This is the first video about these drones that has got me genuinely concerned.’
The White House has not touched on any claims about sniffer drones during its several briefings in the last week.
National Security Communication Advisor John Kirby has urged that the sightings pose no ‘national security or public safety threat’, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he knows of ‘no foreign involvement.’
But the lack of explanation has sparked fierce criticism from some lawmakers as drones continue to appear around sensitive sites, and panic spread as a New Jersey mayor revealed his fire department had been told to wear hazmat suits in case the flying objects crashed.
Sen. Jon Bramnick called for a state of emergency over what he said was a lack of government transparency over the unexplained drone sightings.
‘Whatever these drones are doing, the government really doesn’t want us to know,’ he told NewsNation on Saturday, urging the DoD to ‘come clean with the American public’ following a string of appearances since November.
‘There must be something going on that they can’t tell us because they’re so fearful of what the public’s gonna do when they hear what the drones are doing,’ the Republican senator claimed.
During a congressional hearing last Tuesday, Robert Wheeler, assistant FBI director, said the agency had received more than 3,000 reports of drone sightings in a week.
‘The Bureau is actively investigating the situation you mentioned, the unexplained sighting of drone activity over that part of New Jersey, including in proximity to sensitive sites and areas of concern,’ he said.
‘We do not attribute that to an individual or a group yet. We’re investigating, but I don’t have an answer of who’s responsible for that—if one or more people are responsible for those drone flights. But we’re actively investigating.’
The Department of Defense (DOD) said Saturday that the FBI’s tip line has now received 5,000 reports and fewer than 100 have led to leads ‘deemed worthy of further investigative activity.’
‘We don’t know what the activity is. We don’t know if it is malicious if it is criminal, but I will tell you that it is irresponsible,’ a DOD official told Congress.
‘And, you know, here on the military side, we are just as frustrated with the irresponsible nature of this activity.’
