FedEx finds missing radioactive package

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 26 (UPI) -- A FedEx package containing low-grade radioactive material missing since Tuesday was found Friday in Knoxville, Tenn., the parcel delivery company said.

"It was in our custody all this time," FedEx spokeswoman Sandra Munoz told The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal.

A nationwide search for the package was initiated when it failed to arrive at its intended Knoxville destination, including an alert sent to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. FedEx stressed the package posed no danger so long as it was not opened.

The package held a cylinder containing rods used to calibrate hospital equipment. It was shipped along with two similar packages from a hospital in Fargo, N.D., to a Knoxville business via FedEx's Memphis hub. The business alerted FedEx Tuesday when only two of the expected parcels arrived.

Munoz said the third package was somehow separated from the other two boxes, which were still in an outer package that displayed the shipping information.