Global Security Newswire
Daily News on Nuclear, Biological & Chemical Weapons, Terrorism and Related Issues
"Forgotten" Radioactive Material Turns Up in Georgian Lab
A plutonium-beryllium cache was apparently "forgotten" for 42 years before turning up recently at a research facility in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, Bloomberg reported today (see GSN, June 23).
The material was discovered inside a “special container stored in wax and lead, which was quite safe and presented no danger for the environment,” said Giorgi Nabakhtiani, a nuclear expert with Georgia's Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ministry.
“The substance has now been removed and stored at a special unit,” Nabakhtiani said, adding it “was likely forgotten for several decades after it was brought to the laboratory for a special test."
The laboratory did not contain enough plutonium-beryllium for use in a radiological "dirty bomb," the specialist said (Bloomberg/Moscow Times, Aug. 2)
Subscribe to GSN
NTI Analysis
-
Global Dialogue October 2012 Meeting
Nov. 9, 2012
This report includes resources from the October 2012 meeting of the Global Dialogue on Nuclear Security Priorities in Dalfsen, The Netherlands.
-
1st Global Dialogue Rapporteur’s Report
Aug. 9, 2012
This rapporteur's report reflects the discussion of 35 government officials, experts, and representatives from nuclear industry and international organizations at the first Global Dialogue on Nuclear Security Priorities meeting in July 2012.
Country Profile
Georgia
This article provides an overview of Georgia’s historical and current policies relating to nuclear, chemical, biological and missile proliferation.
