Charles Wesley was about to throw lobster and steak on the grill for a wedding anniversary cookout on Saturday when he stopped by his bushes to pull some weeds.
But along with weeds he also found a yellow and black box about the size of a car battery with the word ``nuclear'' on the side.
``That's all I needed to see is the words 'radioactive' and 'nuclear,''' Wesley said. ``Something like that, you can't just throw it in your trash can.''
He called authorities and within minutes police cordoned off the block and evacuated his neighbors.
Police determined the box was a nuclear compaction device used in construction. Wesley's neighbor had reported the box stolen from his truck.
Bethlehem Assistant Fire Chief David Rufe said the thief likely threw the box into the bushes. He said it had the same level of radiation as two household smoke detectors.
