Inadequate Control of World's Radioactive Sources
The radioactive materials needed to build a "dirty bomb" can be found in almost any country in the world, and more than 100 countries may have inadequate control and monitoring programs necessary to prevent or even detect the theft of these materials, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says.
?"What is needed is cradle-to-grave control of powerful radioactive sources to protect them against terrorism or theft," says IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei.?
One known case of an attempt to terrorize using radioactive material was the 1995 case when Chechen rebels placed a container with caesium-137 in a Moscow park. Fortunately, the material was not dispersed.
In many countries, as the regulatory control of radioactive sources is weak, the inventories are not well known. It is apparent that an important fraction of cases involved persons who expected to find buyers interested in the radioactive contents of stolen sources and their ability to cause or threaten harm.
Through its program to help countries improve their national infrastructures for radiation safety and security, the IAEA has found that more than 100 countries may have no minimum infrastructure in place to properly control radiation sources.?
The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission reports that U.S. companies have lost track of nearly 1,500 radioactive sources within the country since 1996, and more than half were never recovered. A European Union (EU) study estimated that every year up to about 70 sources are lost from regulatory control in the EU. A recent European Commission report estimated that about 30,000 disused sources in the EU that are held in local storage at the users' premises are at risk of being lost from regulatory control.?
A recent European Commission report estimated that about 30,000 disused sources in the EU that are held in local storage at the users' premises are at risk of being lost from regulatory control.?
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