Debate Sparked Over Seized Soviet Uranium

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The New York Sun

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Two Hungarians and a Ukrainian arrested in an attempted sale of uranium were peddling material believed to be from the former Soviet Union, police said yesterday. Officials claimed it was weapons-grade uranium, but outside experts questioned that assessment and suggested it might be far less lethal.

The three men, who were arrested Wednesday in eastern Slovakia and Hungary, were trying to sell about a pound of uranium in powder form, First Police Vice President Michal Kopcik said.

“It was possible to use it in various ways for terrorist attacks,” Mr. Kopcik said.

Mr. Kopcik said investigators believed the uranium was suitable for a radiological “dirty bomb.” He said the uranium had been stashed in unspecified containers, and that investigators determined it contained 98.6% uranium-235. Uranium is considered weapons-grade if it contains at least 85% uranium-235.

But nuclear experts who were shown police photographs of radioactivity readings contended the material was probably not as dangerous as authorities believe. Experts suggested the police confused a scientific reading of the material as dealing with its “concentration” of uranium-235, when in fact it was just a “confidence” level of the machine to give an accurate reading.

“Uranium is not very radiotoxic,” a former U.N. weapons inspector who is now president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, David Albright, said.

“The net effect of dispersing half a kilo [about a pound] of uranium — who cares? Each person would get so little it would have no effect,” Mr. Albright said.

Alexander Glaser, a researcher at Princeton University’s Program in Science and Global Security, said any discussion of dirty bombs in this case was “off topic.”

“Even naturally occurring uranium would be more effective than this in making a dirty bomb,” he said.

Investigators were still working to determine who ultimately was trying to buy the uranium, which the three allegedly were selling for $1 million.


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