As reports have swirled over sightings of drones in the skies over New York and New Jersey, one New Jersey mayor said the drones may be searching for missing “radioactive material,” but the theory he referenced is less alarming than it seems.

Federal officials have downplayed the threat the reported drones may pose, but Belleville, New Jersey, Mayor Michael Melham suggested to Fox 5 New York on Tuesday that the alleged drones, which have captured national attention, could be looking for missing radioactive material.

“We know we have drones flying in a grid-like pattern. In my opinion, they’re looking for something. What might they be looking for? We’re aware of a threat that came through Port Newark. Maybe that’s radioactive material. There is an alert that’s out right now that radioactive material within New Jersey has gone missing on Dec. 2,” Melham said.

“It was a shipment. It arrived at its destination. The container was damaged, and it was empty,” he added.

The alert from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that Melham referred to was issued earlier this month and said the material event contained a “less than Cat 3” level of radioactive material, which means it is “very unlikely to cause permanent injury to individuals or contain a very small amount of radioactive material that would not cause any permanent injury.”

The material was headed to the Nazha Cancer Center and was an Eckert & Ziegler model HEGL-0132, a piece of standard medical equipment. The minor piece of missing radioactive material appears not to be the source of a widespread search.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Federal officials have said the drones pose no threat, but Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is urging Congress for more resources so the federal government can monitor the drones if future threats arise.

“We need Congress to better resource the departments that are involved in this,” Mayorkas told Axios. “State and local authorities need the ability to detect and counter any malicious drone activity with appropriate safeguards.”