Global Security Newswire
Daily News on Nuclear, Biological & Chemical Weapons, Terrorism and Related Issues
Radioactive Material Lost in Poland
Radioactive cobalt stored in several lead containers has gone missing from a shuttered industrial site in Lublin, Poland, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 20).
"The matter concerns seven containers of radioactive sources measuring nine to 20 megabecquerels (MBq). This cobalt can be dangerous to anyone opening a container, " according to Polish National Atomic Energy Agency official Monika Skotniczna.
The situation came to light during an agency visit to the cast-iron plant early last month. Police, nearby nations and all European Union states were quickly alerted, Skotniczna said.
The substance in question is employed in industrial radiography, according to AFP. Cobalt is also considered a possible ingredient for a radiological "dirty bomb," which would use conventional explosives to disperse radioactive material.
The Polish agency believes that thieves stole the lead containers in order to sell them as scrap metal (Agence France-Presse/Spacedaily.com, Dec. 8).
