LAFAYETTE -- A box found in a parking lot in downtown Lafayette on Tuesday morning after being reported stolen initially sparked fears about radiation but was later determined to contain underground radar equipment, authorities said.
John Ingram, owner of Lafayette Auto Repair on Mt. Diablo Boulevard, said he noticed the bright green box covered with radiation stickers after 7 a.m. when he showed up for work. He said he kicked it a couple of times to see if anything was inside; when nothing happened, he called authorities.
That prompted a response from police, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District officials and the California Department of Public Health.
Two representatives from the state health department's Radiologic Health Branch, located in Richmond, examined the box and determined the device inside was a ground-penetrating radar, a common piece of construction equipment used to detect the density of soil or concrete.
"It's a piece of equipment that is radioactive, but (that) is safe to be around," said Kent Prendergast, radioactive materials senior health physicist with the Health Branch. "There is no health risk looking at it or standing near it."

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