Russia has warned the IAEA over the last ten years that the natural uranium kept in a Libyan site is in danger of missing. The loss of 2.5 tons of Libyan uranium under the nuclear watchdog's auspices was declared last Wednesday and fears over nukes were expressed.
IAEA To Secure Natural Uranium From Theft
The International Atomic Energy Agency said the nuclear material in an unknown location in Libya was taken mysteriously, reported by Sputnik News.
The scheduled March 14 UN inspection in Libya was canceled last year due to security threats. In a confidential statement, nuclear watchdog inspectors say that about ten drums equal 2.5 tons of naturally occurring nuclear material as uranium ore concentrate (UOC). It was stated that Libya had it stored where it is now missing, noted Reuters.
This development has prompted the UN nuclear agency to look into the disappearance of the UOC and other pertinent details and called a yellowcake that disappeared and can be used in a nuclear bomb or for a nuclear power plant. A ton would be converted to.6 kilograms (12 pounds) which can become weapons-grade material if technicians get a hold of it, cited SCMP.
A danger that groups capable of harnessing the potential for other than peaceful means is dangerous said the agency. Yellowcake is needed initially to power nuke power reactors or worse a nuclear weapon. A complicated process is used to make mined uranium to make it yellowcake. Enrichment can be done if the material is turned to gas form or uranium hexafluoride.
IAEA Need To Explain Missing Uranium
The missing nuclear material was mentioned by US media even as the agency responsible for the missing two tons was not given further details. It is speculated though not verified by the agency, that it's the containment in Sabha, Libya, which is situated about 660 kilometers in the southeast sector of the Libyan capital of Tripoli.
This nuclear material was in the countless barrels stockpiled by the deceased Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. He was killed by the NATO invasion of a sovereign state and forcibly taken from power by the US-led military bloc.
The end of the Libyan nuclear program in December 2003 was announced later the western official of the military alliance had free access to the sites. They dismantled all parts needed for the Libyans to make nuclear material graded for arms. In 2009 when the UN nuclear agency took out the last refined uranium in Libya, the yellowcake was kept in the country.
UN states, as of 2013, had 6,400 barrels of stored material present in Sabha. Unstable conditions created by the Libyan invasions and terrorists threaten to keep the yellowcake safe, as claimed.
Russia has said the material should be kept secure at all times. Vitaly Churkin, the former Russian envoy to the UN, said the issue was raised in Security Council consultations asking Libya to be more careful. But the warnings have gone ignored, and the missing material can only be blamed on the UN agency and Libya.
The IAEA's failure to secure the natural uranium at the alleged Libyan site in Sabha has worsened global security.
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