Posted on 12/20/2005 2:28:56 AM PST by Calpernia
Nuclear Vials Presumed Stolen, Questions Remain About Safety and Procedures
Federal and state officials report they still have not located two vials of radioactive material that went missing November 3 as they were being shipped by truck from Albuquerque to Kilgore, Texas.
Two plastic tubes of antimony-124, a highly toxic and radioactive liquid primarily used by the oil and gas industry, are looking increasingly like they have been stolen somewhere en route from Albuquerque to Kilgore, Texas, according to New Mexico and federal officials.
An official event notification filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by Pro Technics, one of the companies involved in the event, describes the incident in detail and provides some startling information about nuclear security and safety procedures (emphasis added):
AGREEMENT STATE - LOST/MISSING SHIPMENT
"On Monday, October 31, 2005 a shipment of RAM [radioactive material] was packaged in Albuquerque, N.M. by SpectraTek Services and offered for ground shipment to ProTechnics, in Kilgore, Texas. There were seven packages, four fiber-board boxes and three twenty gallon drums, the latter being yellow III, TI=5.0.
"When the shipment arrived at Kilgore, Texas subsite #004 on the RAML03835 [radioactive materials list], Thursday afternoon November 3, 2005, two vials of liquid (Antimony) Sb-124 with 40mCi/each were missing along with the inner shipping container, an ammo box.
"A tamper seal on the 20 gallon drum was still intact, but this type did not contain a unique serial number.
"The inventory at SpectraTek has been verified as correct and video surveillance indicates that the materials were packaged> and offered for shipment to Con-Way shipping for ground service.
"The corporate RSO [radiation safety officer] reported the missing material to the answering service at 1830 hrs, Thursday, Novevember 3, 2005.
"Sb-124 [antimony] is used for sub-surface field studies in the oil and gas industry. All parties are continuing the investigation."
The event notification filed by SpectraTek Services further elaborates on the incident:
AGREEMENT STATE NOTIFICATON - MISSING SHIPMENT OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL
"On November 3, 2005, at approximately 2:30 p. m., SpectraTek Services received a call from Pro Technics in Kilgore, Texas.
"They stated a seven (7) piece shipment of four (4) fiber-board boxes and three (3) 20-gallon drums had been received.
"The contents of one of the 20-gallon drums were not in the drum. The drum was to have contained an ammo box with two 25 pound lead shipping containers, each containing 40 millicuries of antimony-124 used in oil and gas well completion studies.
" All packages had security seals in place when they arrived at the Pro Technics facility in Kilgore.
"Notification was made to the Pro Technics corporate office, the freight company, and the N.M. [New Mexico] Radiation Control Bureau.
"Interviewing all employees involved in packaging the shipment resulted in written statements from them.
"The inventory has been double-checked and it appears the material balance is correct.
"Security camera tapes have been reviewed showing the packaging area for the day of the shipment [October 31, 2005].
"The tapes show the radioactive material being loaded into the containers and the containers being closed and they also show the shipment being loaded onto the freight carrier's trailer."
The discovery of missing radioactive material triggered notices to public health and safety officials and to the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Weeks of searches on the ground have thus far found nothing.
Significantly, aerial "sniffing" searches for the missing vials, using specially-equipped U.S. Energy Department helicopters equipped with sensitive radiation detectors, have also turned up no trace of the missing radioactive vials.
Officials report that the radioactive materials' first stop in Texas was in Abilene, but the truck carrying the vials continued on through the Dallas area, into Tyler, Texas, finally arriving in Kilgore.
It is unknown if the stuff was removed or stolen in North Texas, or elsewhere along the route.
A careful reading of the event notifications above does sound as though the materials were stolen, rather than merely lost. Note the italicized phrases above: video surveillance shows nothing unsual with the packing of the vials, SpectraTek finds no descrepancies in their inventory, and the security seals were found intact.
(You might also wonder why the security seals did not contain unique serial numbers, as reported by one of the event notices.)
It looks very much as though someone was trying to conceal a theft to buy him or herself some time. It also looks as if the likely theft was by someone who knew the security seals do not contain unique identification numbers.
Another interesting fact emerges when one notices the shipping company reportedly used, Con-Way shipping.
According to public records obtained by the NTIMC, they have been sued over 25 times in the last two years, in Oregon, Pensylvania, California, Arizona, and Texas.
Almost all of the lawsuits were for damages, negligence, or personal injury by a motorized vehicle. In short, , SpectraTek should probably re-think their shipping company contract.
There has been one unconfirmed rumor made to the NTIMC that the mssing radiation vials are actually part of a covert homeland security exercise. But this is unlikely, since the incident has been an embarassment for all parties involved, and it seems unlikely they would would report a failure, rather than a success, to the news media.
But even if it was merely a shipping error that caused the radioactive materials to go missing, the alarming fact remains that highly toxic and radioactive vials had been missing for over two weeks before anyone reported it to the general public. And even after nearly two months missing, there is still no clue as yet as to there whereabouts.
Why did the officials involved wait so long before notifying the mainstream media of the vials' disappearance?
Why have the vials still not been found?
Why has there been no follow-up on this event by the mainstream media?
More important, if the stuff was stolen, who would want it, and why?
According to environmental data, antimony-124 can cause serious health problems if swallowed or breathed by humans or animals. It also emits gamma radiation, which can cause severe internal damage.
Environmental officials in New Mexico affirmed this information in an online report saying the material "can result in significant radiation exposure" and strongly cautioning anyone finding it not to come within 15 feet of the material, and to immediately notify authorities.
The materials are not considered a terrorist threat because of the small quantity of antimony-124 involved, according to the New Mexico statement.
However, terrorists have been found with the chemical in the past. Apparently they bought it, because they thought it was uranium.
Is it possible that someone on the inside, possibly a freight handler with the shipping company, decided to steal the radioactive vials in an attempt to sell them to some unwitting terrorist who thought he or she was buying a more potent source of radiation?
If so, who is this person or group? What is their goal? Where are they?
And more important, what are homeland security officials doing to protect us?
Pro Technics, is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the recovery of the missing vials. Both Pro Technics and SpectraTek are owned by Core Laboratories, an international oil and gas corporation.
Cliff Pearson is a freelance writer and a graduate student in journalism. He is a member of the North Texas Independent Media Center's Editorial Collective.
Nuclear material stolen ping.
Nope. But they will tie in nicely soon enough.
Not border; but well worth a heads up for your locale.
Thank you for the ping.
Both stories have ties to New Mexico though. Seems like lots of high security stuff gets 'stolen' from New Mexico. Bill Richardson is really on the job over there....NOT!
Antimony, AU 51, not fissionable and not likely to make a heck of a mess.
I wouldn't want a tablespoon of it in my French Onion soup, though.
I think they were both Albuquerque too.
yep..this is scary stuff and you know they would just love to ruin our Christmas with some horrible attack!
Was the Grinch successful in ruining Christmas for Whoville?
;)
lol..yep..but the Grinch redeemed himself in the end. Not sure these people are redeemable.
That is a good point.
Sure, let's get rid of the Patriot Act.
PING!
Albuquerque NM Link Ping!
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off this South Texas/Mexico ping list.
No, these are two different stories but sounds very likely they are connected. Scary, indeed. What's even more scary is the officials are overly stressing there's no evidence it's terror related... nothing to see... move along.
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