[HotAir] Reuters was the first to report this as an exclusive a few hours ago. IAEA inspectors visited a site in Libya and found that 2.5 tons of "natural uranium" has gone missing.A year late.
The finding is the result of an inspection originally planned for last year that "had to be postponed because of the security situation in the region" and was finally carried out on Tuesday, according to the confidential statement by International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi.
IAEA inspectors "found that 10 drums containing approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of UOC (uranium ore concentrate) previously declared by (Libya) ... as being stored at that location were not present at the location," the one-page statement said.
Did they look under the bed? The pantry? The broom closet?
In a statement the IAEA said, "The loss of knowledge about the present location of nuclear material may present a radiological risk." It is a risk but according to this factsheet, Uranium ore concentrate, also known as yellowcake, emits a fairly low level of radiation.
Radiation from uranium ore concentrate is quite low. Although uranium is a source of ionizing radiation — electrically charged particles called ions that generate a lot of energy — the radiation risk associated with uranium concentrate is easily managed by simple steps such as limiting the time of direct exposure to the material. Workers who work with uranium concentrate typically use gloves and a respirator for protection.
So this is potentially dangerous if you don’t know what it is and don’t limit your exposure to it but it’s not suitable for use in a reactor or a bomb as is. Still, there are people out there (Iran and North Korea come to mind) who have the facilities to make this raw material more dangerous. And the fact that we don’t know where it went is obviously concerning.
Where oh were has my uranium gone? Where oh where can it be?
Adding to the concern is the fact that Libya’s government remains a chaotic mess. There was supposed to be an election in December 2021 but it was postponed until 2022 for a number of reasons.
More at the link.