Iraq is searching for "highly dangerous" radioactive material stolen last year, according to an environment ministry document and seven security, environmental and provincial officials who fear it could be used as a weapon if acquired by Islamic State.
The material, stored in a protective case the size of a laptop computer, went missing in November from a storage facility near the southern city of Basra belonging to U.S. oilfield services company Weatherford (WFT.N), the document obtained by Reuters showed and officials confirmed.
A spokesman for Iraq's environment ministry said he could not discuss the issue, citing national security concerns. A Weatherford spokesman in Iraq declined to comment, and the company's Houston headquarters did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
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WNU Editor: Fears that the Islamic State may have acquired materials to make a "dirty bomb" have been around since last year .... Australian Intelligence: Islamic State Has Seized Enough Radioactive Material To Build A Nuclear 'Dirty Bomb' (Updated)
More News On Fears That The Islamic State May Have Stolen Radioactive Material In Iraq To Produce A 'Dirty Bomb'
Nuclear materials in Iraq 'stolen' -- The Telegraph
ISIS could possess radioactive materials stolen from Iraq, officials fear -- Washington Times
ISIS feared to have obtained 'highly dangerous' radioactive material stolen from US firm in Iraq which could be used to make a 'dirty' bomb -- Daily Mail
Missing radioactive material in Iraq prompts nationwide search, ISIS fears -- FOX News
'Dangerous' Radioactive Material Stolen In Iraq -- SKY News
ISIS could have stolen enough radioactive material from Iraq for a dirty bomb -- NYPost
2 comments:
from wiki
Though a dirty bomb or radiological dispersal device (RDD) would be designed to disperse radioactive material over a large area, a bomb that uses conventional explosives and produces a blast wave would be far more lethal to people than the hazard posed by radioactive material that may be mixed with the explosive.[1] At levels created from probable sources, not enough radiation would be present to cause severe illness or death. A test explosion and subsequent calculations done by the United States Department of Energy found that assuming nothing is done to clean up the affected area and everyone stays in the affected area for one year, the radiation exposure would be "fairly high", but not fatal.[2][3]
WNU Editor,
All accounts at the time, and more than a few since then, clearly stated, buried in all the fearmongering, that what was stolen was slightly radioactive mineral samples from the geology lab.
I guess if they just keep repeating the fear mongering slightly hysterical story, over and over, people will come to believe it.
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