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Trafficking of nuclear material: significant incidents
Christian Science Monitor ^ | Wednesday, December 5, 2001

Posted on 12/05/2001 1:11:42 AM PST by JohnHuang2

1. Oct. 9, 1992 Russian police intercept 1.5 kilograms of highly enriched uranium at the train station in Podolsk. A worker at the Luch Scientific Production Association in the same city had taken the material. 2. May 1993

Approximately 100 grams of highly enriched uranium are discovered in a bank vault in Vilnius, Lithuania. The cache, originally from the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering in Obninsk, Russia, is embedded in a shipment of 4 metric tons of beryllium.3. July 29, 1993

Russian security forces arrest two naval servicemen before they can smuggle 1.8 kilograms of highly enriched uranium out of the country. The servicemen stole the material from a storage facility on the naval base in Andreeva Guba, Russia.4. March 1994

Russian agents in St. Petersburg arrest three people attempting to sell about 3 kilograms of highly enriched uranium. The material likely came from a machine-building plant in Elektrostal, Russia. Not much corroborating evidence of the incident is available.5. May 10, 1994

As police in Tengen, Germany, investigate a businessman, they stumble upon about 6 grams of plutonium in his apartment. Its source is unconfirmed but is thought to possibly be a Soviet weapons lab at Arzamas-16, Russia.6. June 1994

A naval officer at the Sevmorput Shipyard in Russia notifies authorities after a fellow officer asks about potential customers for nuclear material. The tip leads to the piecing together of a case involving two other officers and 4.5 kilograms of highly enriched uranium that had been stolen from the shipyard in 1993.7. June 13, 1994

Undercover police in Landshut, Germany, act as potential customers in a sting operation involving the trade of 800 milligrams of highly enriched uranium. The material likely came from the Obninsk, Russia, institute. A Slovakian trader was convicted in the case.8. Aug. 10, 1994

Undercover German police act as potential customers in a sting operation involving the trafficking of 560 grams of mixed oxide fuel and more than 360 grams of plutonium. The material, which likely came from the Obninsk, Russia, institute, was intercepted on a flight from Moscow to Munich. A Colombian national and two Spaniards were arrested.9. Dec. 14, 1994

An anonymous tip to Czech police indicates that highly enriched uranium is in a parked car in Prague. Police arrest a Russian trader, a Czech physicist, and a Belarusian. The 2.7 kilograms of material are likely from the Obninsk, Russia, institute.10. June 8, 1995

In a Moscow sting operation, Russian agents arrest three people trying to sell 1.7 kilograms of highly enriched uranium. One of the suspects is a worker in Elektrostal, Russia, where the material originated.11. December 1997

A Russian inspection team visits the I.N. Vekua Physics and Technology Institute in Sukhumi, Georgia, which had been closed as a result of the Abkhazia-Georgia conflict. About 2 kilograms of highly enriched uranium that had been counted in a 1992 inventory are missing. The material has not been recovered.12. Dec. 17, 1998

A Russian agency reports that it thwarted an attempt by workers at a nuclear facility in the Chelyabinsk Oblast region of Russia to steal 18.5 kilograms of uranium.13. May 29, 1999

Bulgarian customs officers in Dunav Most discover 10 grams of highly enriched uranium hidden in a car crossing into Turkey. The driver says he obtained the material in Moldova, although authorities haven't determined the source.14. April 19, 2000

Police in Batumi, Georgia, arrest four residents and seize 920 grams of highly enriched uranium. Its source is unknown.

Source: Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies



TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events
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Quote of the Day by Billthedrill
1 posted on 12/05/2001 1:11:42 AM PST by JohnHuang2
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To: JohnHuang2
"About 2 kilograms of highly enriched uranium that had been counted in a 1992 inventory are missing. The material has not been recovered.12. Dec. 17, 1998"

Uh oh . . . .

2 posted on 12/05/2001 1:25:57 AM PST by Neanderthal
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To: JohnHuang2
When you imbed a certain kind of nuclear materal [alpha emitter, I think] in beryllium, you get a thermal neutron source.
3 posted on 12/05/2001 2:16:34 AM PST by snopercod
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To: JohnHuang2
Well, we all know how border stops really work, right? For everything contraband that is discovered, what is it, like three times that much gets through undedected? This is a very disturbing proposition when we're talking highly enriched uranium.
4 posted on 12/05/2001 5:19:19 AM PST by DETAILER
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To: snopercod
To imbed an explosive in a dirty bomb of nuclear material and set it off requires a great amount of danger to the bomber as well as a lot of transportation and logistical problems. I tend to think the actual nuclear bomb is a bigger danger than the dirty bomb.

The Iranians, Iraqis, North Koreans, or Pakistanis would be happy to get one delivered over here if the transport problems could be solved and the origin covered up. The origin gives them more pause than the transportation problems.

5 posted on 12/05/2001 5:23:25 AM PST by meenie
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6 posted on 12/05/2001 8:17:10 AM PST by 2ndMostConservativeBrdMember
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To: meenie
To imbed an explosive in a dirty bomb of nuclear material and set it off requires a great amount of danger to the bomber as well as a lot of transportation and logistical problems. I tend to think the actual nuclear bomb is a bigger danger than the dirty bomb.

As a former nuclear power plant engineer, I agree completely with that statement. A nuclear bomb is not very radioactive until you trigger it, and can be handled safely.

But a "dirty bomb" is radiating all the time, and must be shielded with lots of heavy stuff like lead or concrete or water. Totally impractical on a large scale, IMO.

7 posted on 12/05/2001 1:33:48 PM PST by snopercod
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