Advanced Search

Search for: Enter query terms separated by spaces. Match: All words Any word Exact phrase Search in: Select any one of the following databases and archives or search any combination. Click here for more details. Entire Web Site Global Security Newswire Country Profiles WMD 411 Issue Briefs & Analysis Securing the Bomb NTI Press Room Source Documents HEU Reduction and Elimination Database Submarine Proliferation Database Russian Language Resources NIS Nuclear and Missile Database NIS Nuclear Trafficking Database

Abstract Number:	200060210
Headline:	IAEA Releases New Statistics on Illicit Trafficking and Other Unauthorized Activities involving Nuclear and Radioactive Materials
Date:	27 September 2006
Bibliography:	International Atomic Energy Agency report, http://www.iaea.org
Author:
Orig. Src.:
Case:
Material:	Nuclear and Radioactive Materials

Abstract:

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released the latest statistics on nuclear trafficking that it gathered from its Illicit Trafficking Database (ITDB) on 1 August  2006. According to the statistics as of 31 December 2005, the ITDB contained 827 confirmed incidents reported by IAEA Member States. Of the 827 confirmed incidents, 224 incidents involved nuclear materials, 516 incidents involved other radioactive materials (mainly radioactive sources), 26 incidents involved both nuclear and other radioactive materials, 50 incidents involved radioactively contaminated materials, and 11 incidents involved other materials.

The IAEA first started collecting information on nuclear trafficking in 1993. The ITDB was formally established in 1995, to track information on illicit trafficking incidents and other unauthorized activities involving nuclear and other radioactive materials. The majority of incidents in the database involved intentional illegal acquisition, possession, transfer, or disposal of nuclear or other radioactive material, whether intentional or unintentional, with or without crossing international borders. The database also includes incidents involving inadvertent loss or the discovery of uncontrolled nuclear and radioactive materials, or "orphan" materials. As of 1 August 2006, ninety-one IAEA member states participate in the ITDB program and report incidents to the IAEA. Out of the 14 states considered part of the Newly Independent States (NIS), only two did not participate, Turkmenistan and Moldova.

During 1993-2005, 16 confirmed incidents involved trafficking in highly enriched uranium and plutonium. Of these incidents, four occurred in the NIS. Another seven cases involved material suspected to be of Russian or NIS origin. [Please see CNS issue brief on Illicit Nuclear Trafficking in the NIS for a more detailed table]. According to the ITDB, none of the most recent cases, which include a lost package containing 3.3g of HEU in New Jersey, United States and a lost neutron flux detector in Fukui, Japan, involve former Soviet states.

[1] "Illicit Trafficking and Other Unauthorized Activities involving Nuclear and Radioactive Materials: Fact Sheet," International Atomic Energy Website, http://www.iaea.org/, 1 January 2006. {Entered 11/02/06 SG}
 

The Center for Nonproliferation Studies has not verified the accuracy or veracity of this report or the facts presented therein.  For more information on the material in this database please contact Dr. Scott Parrish at sparrish@miis.edu.

This material is produced independently for NTI by the 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, agents. Copyright © 2003 by MIIS.

HOME  |  CONTACT US  |  SITE MAP