Uh, 2.5 Tons of Natural Uranium Are Suddenly Missing
Ten drums totaling 2.5 tons of natural uranium have gone missing from Libya.
The natural uranium isn't immediately dangerous as a weapon, but it can be enriched to turn into weapons-grade uranium.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is on the case.
Natural uranium isn't weapons-grade—at least not yet. But it can be enriched to get there, so when 2.5 tons of it suddenly goes missing, officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency are understandably concerned.
According to a report, first offered by Reuters, that's exactly what has happened in Libya. And the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is on the hunt for the uranium that was stored in 10 drums.
"Agency safeguards inspectors found that 10 drums containing approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of uranium ore concentrate were not present as previously declared at a location in the state of Libya," the IAEA said in a statement. "Further activities will be conducted by the agency to clarify the circumstances of the removal of the nuclear material and its current location."
Reuters says the undisclosed Libyan site was not under government control, but was on a list of a previously declared sites, which has experts narrowing the list of potential locations.
IAEA inspectors were prohibited from visiting the known site at their planned time in 2022 because of a security situation, and when they reached the site on Tuesday, a complex endeavor, the missing uranium was discovered. "The loss of knowledge about the present location of nuclear material may present a radiological risk, as well as nuclear safety concerns," the IAEA says.
Known as yellowcake uranium, the powdered material requires an enrichment process to convert it to a weapons-grade. This process includes a conversion to gas and the Associated Press reports that one ton of natural uranium can turn into 12 pounds of weapons-grade material if the technological know-how required in the enrichment process is followed. For 2.5 tons, that equates to 28 pounds of potential weapons-grade uranium available.
Reuters reports that Libya renounced its nuclear weapons program in 2003, but political control of the region has been in turmoil for over a decade.
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