On Tuesday, U.S. lawmakers met with members of the intelligence community in a closed-door classified hearing to discuss the ongoing drone activity that has captured both the imagination and the conspiracy theories of the U.S.

The story took another turn when Belleville, New Jersey, Mayor Michael Melham noted the disappearance of some radioactive material from the Port of Newark and claimed the drones appeared to be “looking for something.”

“We're aware of a threat that came in through Port Newark,” Melham told Fox 5 New York on Tuesday. “There is an alert that's out right now that radioactive material in New Jersey has gone missing on December 2. It arrived at its destination. The container was damaged and was empty.”

On December 13, a report was filed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, indicating that a shipment containing “less than category 3” radioactive material arrived damaged and empty.

According to the report, the container's content was reported lost in transit on December 2, and the USNRC was notified on December 5.

“This is just an example of what I think that we're sniffing for,” Melham continued. “I think we do have the assets that can go up and fly around and sniffing, which is why we're not seeing the uptick we used to see in Belleville anymore. It's kind of moving, but we're seeing alerts that it's happening now in Pennsylvania.”

USNRC officials clarified that “less than a category 3” radioactive material is unlikely to cause permanent injury to people.

“The categories refer to the risk significance of the material involved; it's a ranking by the International Atomic Energy Agency,” a USNRC spokesperson told Decrypt. “Categories one and two involve dangerous materials.”

While the notion of radioactive materials may conjure images of nuclear meltdowns, weapons, or the Incredible Hulk, the USNRC spokesperson said the material in question is comparable to a Gamma Knife. A Gamma Knife is a tool used in radiosurgery that delivers highly focused beams of radiation to treat brain tumors and cancer.

“Category three is widely used in industry and medicine,” the spokesperson added. “Less than category three indicates a very small amount of radioactive material, posing no real threat to public safety.”

According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Projection, the radioactive material was located last week.

“The radioactive source—about six inches in length and with a 1.5-millimeter diameter—was located on Dec. 10, 2024, repackaged, and sent to the manufacturer from the FedEx shipping facility where it was misplaced,” a spokesperson with the NJDoEP told Decrypt. “The Ge-68 pin is a very low-level radiation source that is approved for shipping through common carriers like FedEx.”

“The New Jersey Department of Environmental Projection did not use drones to find the radioactive material,” they added, countering claims that the drones are scanning for the missing radioactive materials.

Still, the mystery surrounding drones continues to grip the nation, with sightings over residential and government facilities.

Despite efforts to calm fears–ranging from alien invasions to sentient plasmoids and foreign spies–concerned citizens have filed over 5,000 reports of these sightings.

The Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration, and Department of Defense issued a joint statement Tuesday downplaying the drone sightings as explainable by normal air traffic, drone pilots, and natural phenomena.

Echoing statements made by White House and Pentagon officials last week, the agencies said after examining the data and tips received related to the drones, the sightings include a combination of “lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones.”

“We have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast,” the agencies said.

Public hearings in Washington have brought growing attention to Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in recent weeks. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have pushed for greater transparency from military and intelligence agencies, citing natural security and public safety concerns.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair and Josh Quittner