Turkish security forces seized 173 grams of medium-grade uranium from two men arrested in Istanbul. Authorities fear the dangerous substance smuggled from Russia could have landed in the hands of terrorists, Turkish media reported. Two people who were planning to sell the substance in a glass bottle for $7 million were detained. The detainees said that they had smuggled the substance from Russia. Sources in the Turkish security forces noted that the substance had the capacity to meet one-year electricity requirement of New York city of the United States, Turkeyâs Anatolia news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Turkish Atomic Energy Agency experts, after examining the substance, said it contained 17 per cent of the U-235 isotope. The remaining 83 per cent is mostly the U-238 isotope which does not contribute directly to the fission process. Uranium found in nature consists largely of two isotopes: U-235 and U-238. The energy production in nuclear reactors is from the âfissionâ or splitting of the U-235 atoms, a process which releases energy in the form of heat. U-235 is the main fissile isotope of uranium. Under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) signed also by Turkey, sale, purchase and transportation of any amount of uranium are subject to international restrictions.
The two men, whose identities are not revealed, were detained by police who acted as would-be buyers of the uranium. A spokesman for the Turkish security services said: âThe only place where the uranium could eventually land is in the hands of terrorists,â the Itar-Tass news agency reports. |