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Uranium Bust Investigation Could Last Months
It could take several months to close the investigation on the attempted sale of 1 pound of uranium, Slovak police said Friday (see GSN, Nov. 30). Slovak and Hungarian authorities said last week that they had arrested a Ukrainian national and two Hungarians who attempted to sell 481.4 grams of a substance containing uranium 235, which is used in nuclear weapons, and naturally occurring uranium 238. Officials indicated the material came from a former Soviet state but would not say which governments would be approached as investigators try to determine the uranium’s source country, Agence France-Presse reported. “That is internal information,” said Slovak police spokesman Martin Korch. The suspects are due to appear in court when the investigation is complete, Korch said. They could face up to two decades in prison if convicted. The International Atomic Energy Agency is seeking information on this most recent attempted sale of radioactive material in Slovak authorities last week said the powdered uranium seized during the arrests was weapon-grade material, though experts have questioned that claim (Agence France-Presse I/NASDAQ.com, Nov. 30). One expert said he doubted the material could even be used for a radiological “dirty bomb,” which would use conventional explosives to disperse lower-grade radioactive material, the Czech News Agency reported Friday. “Preliminary examinations showed it was low-enriched uranium,” chemical laboratory chief Peter Novotny told Reuters (Czech News Agency, Nov. 30). The arrests have renewed discussions regarding the potential threat posed by dirty bombs. “The interest in a dirty bomb is to frighten,” emergency response doctor and WMD specialist Marc Lemaire told AFP. “It is designed to hurt, of course, like all attacks, but the goal most of all is to terrorize.” Experts have said that such a weapon might cause little immediate harm to humans but could have long-term effects on the attack site. “You can have an effective result by contaminating an area,” Lemaire said. “But in what proportion? It’s difficult to know beforehand. But certainly you can create a huge panic.” Even when the panic wears off, the affected area could be placed off-limits for decades due to residual radiation contamination. “No one really knows the true effectiveness of that type of device,” as one has not yet been used, said researcher Georges La Guelte of the Institute for International and Strategic Research in Material for a dirty bomb could be easily found, experts warn. “Significant amounts of radioactive materials are stored in laboratories, food irradiation plants, oil drilling facilities, medical centers and many other sites,” Federation of American Scientists head Henry Kelly told the U.S. Senate (Michel Moutot, Agence France-Presse/China Post, Dec. 3).
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