IAEA declares "nuclear emergency" in Nigeria

Fox News Channel | 022803 | Bret Baer

[dep]

The International Atomic Energy Agency has declared a "nuclear emergency" over the radioactive material reported missing from Nigeria this week. The agency says that they are viewing it as a "stretegic theft," which is to say that the material was taken with nefarious purposes in mind. Baer reports that this very likely means dirty bombs.

[DoughtyOne]

Wait just a gol-derned minute there. I'm supposed to be getting that $27.3 million. ; )

[harpseal]

Beryllium and Americium

It all depends upon the quantities and what the person or persons who have it have besides that. If they have some low-enriched Uranium with enough Americium they might be able to do something very unpleasent.

[onedoug]

Oh, if only we could just talk to the thieves....

[dep]

I have a hard time believing anything from an organization named the "Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility."

okay. will livermore do?

"If there were no evacuation, no filtering of air by being inside, and if the cloud did not migrate beyond the city, the population could inhale 80 milligrams of plutonium (0.0002 milligrams per cubic meter x 1 cubic meter per hour x 93 hours x 4300) in 93 hours, which would result in about 960 cancer deaths (12 cancers per milligram x 80 milligrams = 960), in addition to the 860 cancer deaths one expects (20% of the population), from other causes, among 4300 people. . . ."

dep

[Callahan]

Problem is "scary" works. You can bet even a small radiological bomb going off in DC and blowing up a single taxi cab would have people fleeing their homes as far away as Delaware, spurred on by the hysterical media.

[John H K]

The real problem is that everyone within 500 miles of DC, for the next 100 years, who gets cancer, would be absolutely, positively convinced that they got it from the dirty bomb (even 2 pack a day smokers with lung cancer) and will demand the same monetary awards that the 9/11 victim's families got.

[MississippiMan]

I'm sure Mohammed Al Baradei is just the man to handle this crisis.

You are QUICK. Impressive. Call Mo right away.

MM

[craig_eddy]

Yes, that'll do. And I'm not trying to minimize the concern here, just trying to keep it rational. :)

BUT...from the same article:

The public health impact of the illicit dispersal of plutonium into the atmosphere would depend strongly on the circumstances and mechanisms of dispersal. People very near the dispersal site could experience serious acute health effects or significant increased cancer risks, but it is inconceivable that large numbers of people would suffer grave health effects, as implied by the news media. In particular, only someone quite near the source would have a significant risk of being exposed to an acutely lethal amount of plutonium, and that person would as likely be injured by the explosion or fire that dispersed the plutonium.

[Vic3O3]

glowinthedark ping

[sam_paine]

This isn't "nuke" material. It's radioactive material.

You're needlessly diffusing the potential hysteria on this board!!! Gee whiz. Instead, apply the terminology in a way that is more alarming. I will demonstrate!

MANIFESTO: I am in current in possession of 20 pounds of silica based material with atomic nuclei. The nuclear atomic bonds in that bag have a huge potential energy that if released, could disrupt space-time. It may look like a bag of Play Sand, and it's not very radioactive, but actually, it is mostly nuclear material (by weight.)

[ffusco]

MANIFESTO: I am in current in possession of 20 pounds of silica based material with atomic nuclei. The nuclear atomic bonds in that bag have a huge potential energy that if released, could disrupt space-time. It may look like a bag of Play Sand, and it's not very radioactive, but actually, it is mostly nuclear material (by weight.)

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!

[altayann]

Other materials can be used to make atomic bombs, and they're a lot easier to get.

[maestro]

Ever wonder just what is the 'cargo' of the three wandering Islamic ships?

[altayann]

Neptunium, americium and other actinides

These heavy metallic elements are created when uranium is run through a nuclear reactor. They're generally present in spent fuel.

These materials are capable of generating the sort of critical chain reaction needed to fuel a nuclear weapon, but substantial knowledge and equipment would be required to make a bomb with them.

[Siobhan]

Dirty bomb ping.

[Stopislamnow]

If one micron of nuclear material is released in the US from any terrorist. Iran, Irag, Pakistan, Nigeria, and North Korea should cease to exist in any way whatsoever.

There are no innocents.

[anniegetyourgun]

Yes, I noticed that the IAEA put out a statement yesterday as well about how disturbed they are by N. Korea re-uping their nuke facility in PY. Gee, I wonder what they'll do about it....other than put out their statement of upset? Oh yeah, maybe the security council can put together a 'resolution' that both they AND N. Korea can ignore together.

I believe this President has laid bare the truth about the U.N., and I don't think it's accidental. He's going to take down Iraq AND the U.N. in the same pass.

[Irish Eyes]

"Niger is the world's third-largest uranium producer, after Canada and Australia. Its main uranium mining areas are operated by a French company called Cogema."

I saw this in one of your links....so the French surface again.

[KickRightRudder]

good sense of humor in the face of grim news. What will happen when a dirty bo*b goes off on Wall street? I guess you better short the market.

[Conservative4Ever]

I feel ever so much better now. Does this mean I can remove the plastic wrap on the windows?

Red