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Loose nuclear materials – U.S anxiety revealed by Wikileaks

WikiLeaks: From Congo to the Caucasus — chasing loose nuke material By Tim Lister, CNN, December 20, 2010 One of the nightmare scenarios of the 21st century is a “rogue state” or terror group getting its hands on nuclear material that could be sufficiently enriched to make a weapon. And diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks show that from central Africa to central Asia, it’s a constant preoccupation of U.S. officials. Two cables from 2007 detailed the discovery of uranium in “multiple containers” in the Democratic Republic of Congo…….

Security at nuclear installations has been another cause for alarm. In 2006, U.S. diplomats toured a non-functioning nuclear research center that included two reactors in the Congo capital, Kinshasa. One, according to the director of the center, contained “5.1 kilograms of enriched uranium,” which is U-235, enriched to 20 percent.

The visitors noted: “External and internal security is poor, leaving the facility vulnerable to theft. The fence is not lit at night, has no razor-wire across the top, and is not monitored by video surveillance. There is also no cleared buffer zone between it and the surrounding vegetation.”

As for the guards, “some are elderly, and some are occasionally caught sleeping on the job,” the cable adds. “It is relatively easy for someone to break into the nuclear reactor building or the nuclear waste storage building and steal rods or nuclear waste, with no greater tool than a lock cutter.”

In fact, two fuel rods had vanished from the facility in 1998. One was subsequently found when the Mafia in Italy tried to sell it to unidentified buyers from the Middle East. The other was never recovered.

Guarding nuclear materials appears to have been a problem in Yemen, too……
n the year to June 2010, the IAEA reported 61 incidents involving theft or loss. Five of the incidents involved high enriched uranium or plutonium, including one of illegal possession. Several cables refer to attempts to sell nuclear and radiological materials stolen in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

WikiLeaks: From Congo to the Caucasus — chasing loose nuke material – CNN.com

December 21, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety