Vehicle with radioactive potassium cyanide detained at Russo-Ukrainian border

June 6, 2008

Abstract:

Customs officials at the Izvarino checkpoint (Lugansk region) on the Russo-Ukrainian border detained a Mercedes truck en route from Donetsk, Ukraine, to Kamensk, Russia. The truck's cargo of 4,500 kilograms of potassium cyanide, packed in sacks, emitted radiation measured at 65 microroentgen/hr (with the Ritm measuring device). A press report indicated that the truck would remain in a special holding area until the company was able to provide a certificate for the cargo and the ecological service made a determination on whether the cargo required special containers for transportation.{Entered 9/23/08 AL}

Abstract Number: 20080160
Headline: Vehicle with radioactive potassium cyanide detained at Russo-Ukrainian border
Date: 6 June 2008
Bibliography: "Tamozhenniki perekhvatili radioaktivnyy gruzovik na granitse s Rossiyey," MIGnews.com.ua, 6 June 2008; http://mignews.com.ua/articles_print/305059.html.
Material: Contaminated Materials

This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, or agents. Copyright © 2011 by MIIS.

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This article is part of a collection examining reported incidents of nuclear or radioactive materials trafficking in or originating from the Newly Independent States.