A small amount of radioactive material in a pickup stolen Thursday was found Friday, Reuters reported. The material, the size of a pen point, was still in its pen-sized protective housing.

The material, iridium-192, is used in an industrial inspection device, according to The Associated Press. It could have harmed anyone who tampered with its housing, said the operations chief for the National Nuclear Security Commission, Mardonio Jimenez.

When the truck was reported stolen, local police were dispatched to look for it and the iridium. Authorities found the truck, which belongs to a metalworking company, but the iridium wasn't inside, according to Reuters. Luis Felipe Puente, head of Mexico's civil protection agency, tweeted warnings and updated the public on the situation. He tweeted an image of a container similar to one used to carry the iridium, warning anyone who found it not to touch it and to call officials.

He later tweeted that the material had been found on the side of the road on Presidente Juarez Avenue, in the same neighborhood as the truck, in Tlalnepantla, an industrial suburb of Mexico City. Reuters reported that military troops cordoned off the area and placed hazardous material signs in the vicinity as they retrieved the iridium.

No injuries were reported.

This is the third time radioactive material has been stolen since December. On June 8, a device containing radioactive material was stolen from a government laboratory in Mexico City, according to La Prensa. Cesium-37 and americium-beryllium pose little threat to people in the long term but can cause short-term problem if mishandled. Police found the material six days later.

The incident on Dec. 3 highlights the danger posed by stolen radioactive material. A truck carrying radioactive cobalt was stolen, according to CNN, and though it and its cargo were recovered, had that cargo fallen in the wrong hands, it could have been used to make a "dirty bomb," according to experts.