( CNN ) -- FedEx on Friday found a package containing radioactive material that went missing a day earlier at one of its shipping stations in Knoxville , Tennessee , the company said . The package contained a radioactive rod used in CT scans , which use X-rays to create images of patients ' bodies . The shipment was lost in transit between its origination point , a hospital in North Dakota , and the equipment 's manufacturer in Tennessee . FedEx spokeswoman Sandra Munoz said the rod was enclosed in a metal cylinder that was itself enclosed in a rectangular box . That rectangular box had originally been placed in another box that had the shipping information on it . `` We are trying to track down how the package became detached from the original shipment , '' Munoz said . FedEx employees found an unlabeled container Friday afternoon and opened it , revealing the metal cylinder , which remained closed . `` FedEx employees were never exposed to the radiation , '' Munoz said . Earlier , Munoz had said that if the metal container were opened , there would be some exposure to radiation , but at a low concentration . `` There would be some very low-level energy skin absorption there . It would take 1,000 hours of exposure to get skin blisters , '' she said . CNN 's Greg Morrison contributed to this report .
A sealed package containing a radioactive rod is missing , FedEx says . It was misplaced in a shipping container in Knoxville , Tennessee , it says . ` ` FedEx employees were never exposed to the material , '' a spokeswoman says .