Washington (AFP) - A US university said Tuesday it has found a package containing radioactive material that went missing for more than 10 days and had sparked an appeal for help tracking it down.

Texas A&M University said the FedEx shipment -- which contained a "radioactive source" for research purposes -- was located untampered with in one of its secure hazardous material storage facilities.

"The package was unopened, undamaged and in its original shipping condition," the university said in a statement.

"The package is safe for transportation and storage and the community was never in any danger."

Local broadcaster KBTX on Monday quoted an earlier university statement as saying that the shipment didn't pose a health risk to the public so long as the contents, secured in a box, were not "disturbed."

KBTX, referencing an internal email from an assistant vice president with the Office of Safety and Security at the university, also reported that FedEx records showed the package had been delivered and signed for on August 21.

However, the university had said originally that it was "confident" it had not been received.



