Radiological Weapons:  Laos Denies Involvement in Thai Cesium Incident

Laos yesterday denied involvement in efforts to smuggle radioactive materials into Thailand (see GSN, June 18).

Thai authorities last week arrested a man in Bangkok who was attempting to sell cesium 137.  During interrogations, the man said the material was smuggled from Russia into Laos and that additional quantities were still being stored there.

Laotian authorities, however, have found no radioactive materials after investigating the claim, Laotian Foreign Minister Somsavat Lengsavat said.

“We have no idea what kind of substance it is.  I am surprised about the report,” Somsavat said.  “Please do not involve Laos in every bad story about what Thai people have done,” he added (The Nation/BBC Worldwide Monitoring, June 19).

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Radiological Weapons I:  Thai Officials Believe Additional Cesium 137 Remains in Laos

Thai officials investigating a man who was recently arrested in Bangkok for trying to sell cesium 137 believe additional quantities of the material still remain in neighboring Laos, the Wall Street Journal reported today (see GSN, June 16).

Narong Penanam, who was arrested in the attempted cesium sale, has told interrogators that the material originated in Russia and was shipped to Thailand through Laos, a Thai spokesman said.  Thai officials believe two large caches of cesium still remain in Laos, along with at least one of Narong’s accomplices, according to the Journal.

“It’s still an open case,” said a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok.  “The recent big bust is part of an ongoing investigation into where the material originated, who the potential buyers were and who else may have been involved,” the spokesman said.

Narong has also told authorities that he obtained the cesium from the aide of a deceased Thai Air Force marshal, the Journal reported.  The Thai Air Force has denied any involvement with the cesium and said it does not know how it was obtained.

The blocked cesium sale in Thailand has raised concerns that proliferation is beginning to pose a problem in a region where it has not previously been seen, the Journal reported.

“Historically the region has been just about completely free of any sort of proliferation threat,” said a Western diplomat based in Bangkok.  After the recent arrest though, “it appears anything is possible,” the diplomat said (Crispin/Fields, Wall Street Journal, June 18).

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Radiological Weapons II:  “Dirty Bomb” Materials Trafficked in Africa, IAEA Says

The International Atomic Energy Agency yesterday said the illegal trafficking of “dirty bomb” materials in Africa has become an alarming problem, the London Financial Times reported today (see GSN, Dec. 19).

“Illicit trafficking in nuclear materials is an increasing problem for states in Africa,” according to an internal report presented to the agency’s board in Vienna.  Over the past year, the IAEA has sent special missions to some African countries to help them manage suspicious material seized from traffickers.

“What I am afraid of is that if an incident occurred in certain cities today, there would be a complete panic,” said Abel Julio Gonzalez, director of radiation and waste safety at the IAEA (Gillian Tett, London Financial Times, June 18).

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Radiological Weapons:  GAO Criticizes U.S. Program to Control Sealed Sources

By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — The U.S. General Accounting Office yesterday criticized the U.S. Energy Department’s efforts to help countries secure millions of sealed radioactive sources located throughout the world that could be attractive to terrorists seeking to build radiological weapons (see GSN, June 2).

Sealed radioactive sources — radioactive materials housed in containers made of stainless steel or other metals — could be used to construct a “dirty bomb,” a combination of conventional explosives and radioactive materials.  While the exact number of sealed radioactive sources around the world is unknown, a survey of 50 countries found approximately 10 million in use, the GAO said in a May report released yesterday.  In addition, it is estimated that there are thousands of “orphaned” — or abandoned — sealed radioactive sources, primarily within the former Soviet Union, the report says (see GSN, Oct. 23, 2002).

Since fiscal 2002, Energy has received $37 million to begin a program to assist other countries in controlling sealed radioactive sources, according to the report.  Through the program, the department has funded site assessments and security upgrades at sites housing sealed sources at several locations in Russia, Georgia, Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

However, congressional auditors found that the program’s initial efforts have lacked adequate coordination and planning, the report says.  While Energy is developing a plan to guide the program’s efforts, department officials said that more detailed analysis is needed to determine which countries outside the former Soviet Union require assistance, to identify future funding needs and to develop performance measures to determine the program’s success, according to the report.  In addition, the report says, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has recently announced that the program will expand to assist countries in other regions.

In addition, officials from several other U.S. agencies that conduct similar programs, such as the U.S. State Department and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, have said that Energy does not fully coordinate its efforts with them.  Better interagency cooperation could also lead to an improved working relationship with other countries’ nuclear organizations, the report says.  For example, the report says officials from the Russian nuclear regulatory organization Gosatomnadzor complained that Energy Department officials did not adequately consult with them when they chose the initial Russian sites to receive security upgrades.

The report also finds that most of the funding for the Energy program has been spent in the United States rather than in the former Soviet Union.  As of the end of January, the department had spent about $9 million of the program’s funding, with $3 million being transferred to the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to the report.  Of the remainder, 93 percent was spent in the United States by the department’s national laboratories, the report says. 

In its report, the GAO made several recommendations to help Energy improve the management of its program to improve controls over sealed radioactive sources.  For example, the department should work to develop a comprehensive plan to identify countries that need the most aid and that establishes realistic time frames and resources to meet program goals.  The GAO also recommended that the department spend more program funds in countries that need assistance and that it should initiate an effort to develop a governmentwide plan to increase interagency cooperation.

Senator Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), who commissioned the report, has also called on Energy to spend more funds in other countries to improve controls over sealed sources.

“The secretary of energy has said improving the security of radioactive materials abroad is a high priority.  But the GAO report shows that DOE has spent the vast majority of its money for securing sealed sources internationally in the United States at the national labs,” Akaka said yesterday in a press statement.  “DOE needs to work much harder to make sure U.S. assistance goes overseas where it’s needed,” he said.

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Radiological Weapons:  Thai Police Continue Investigation Into Blocked Cesium 137 Sale

Thai authorities today are continuing their investigation into a man who was arrested last week for attempting to sell radioactive materials, according to Agence France-Presse (see GSN, June 13).

The man, Narong Paenanam, was arrested Friday for attempting to sell a container of cesium 137 to undercover Thai police, AFP reported.  Narong, who is now refusing to cooperate with authorities, has told interrogators that he is not connected to terrorist groups, but was only trying to sell material he said he obtained from a friend who has since died.

Police earlier reported that they had confiscated 30 kilograms of cesium, but the Thai Office of Atomic Energy for Peace said the amount was much less.

“The amount of cesium may be less than 100 grams.  The 30 kilos includes the shielding case,” said OAEP Deputy Secretary General Pathom Yamkate.

U.S. diplomats have said there is no additional evidence to strengthen claims made by U.S. customs officials that the seized cesium 137 might have been meant for terrorist use.  U.S. officials are interested in further questioning of Narong, a spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok said.

“To date they have no evidence of the intended use of the cesium beyond long-passed comments, many months old, about a purported terrorist intent,” the spokesman said (Agence France-Presse, June 16).

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