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Europe

Bulgarians Seize British Lorry Carrying Highly Radioactive Materials To Iran

2006-07-23

Border guards seized a British lorry on its way to make a delivery to the Iranian military - after discovering it was packed with radioactive material that could be used to build a dirty bomb. The lorry set off from Kent on its way to Tehran but was stopped by officials at a checkpoint on Bulgaria's northernborder with Romania after a scanner indicated radiation levels 200 times above normal. The lorry was impounded and the Bulgarian Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NPA) was called out.

Bulgaria has scanners, trained personnel and someone alert at the border crossing, huh? Excellent.

On board they found ten lead-lined boxes addressed to the Iranian Ministry of Defence. Inside each box was a soil-testing device, containing highly dangerous quantities of radioactive caesium 137 and americium-beryllium. The soil testers had been sent to Iran by a British firm with the apparent export approval of the Department of Trade and Industry.

P'raps Tony ought to have a chat with his Trade Minister, yes?

Last night, the head of the Bulgarian NRA, Nikolai Todorov, said he was shocked that devices containing so much nuclear material could be sold so easily. He said: "The devices are highly radioactive - if you had another 90 of them you would be able to make an effective dirty bomb."

I'd start checking other lorries.

And a spokesman for the Bulgarian customs office, said: "The documentation listed the shipment as destined for the Ministry of Transport in Tehran, although the final delivery address was the Iranian Ministry of Defence. "According to the documentation they are hand-held soil-testing devices which were sent from a firm in the United Kingdom."

A leading British expert last night said the radioactive material could easily be removed and used to construct a dirty bomb. Dr Frank Barnaby from the Oxford Research Group, said: "You would need a few of these devices to harvest sufficient material for a dirty bomb. Americium-beryllium is an extremely effective element for the construction of a dirty bomb as it has a very long half-life, but I would be amazed to find it out on the street. "I don't know how you would come by it as it is mainly found in spent reactor-fuel elements and is not at all easy to get hold of. I find it very hard to believe it is so easily available in this device."

Senior Labour MP Andrew MacKinlay called for the Government to tighten up export controls to prevent the Iranian military getting its hands on nuclear material. He said: "The Prime Minister has accused the Iranian Government of sponsoring international terrorism, yet his officials are doing nothing to prevent radioactive material which has an obvious dual use being sold to their military." The discovery will add to fears about the lack of control over the sale of nuclear material to so-called 'rogue states' which the Government claims sponsor international terrorism, particularly as it comes at a time when Iran is ignoring international calls to halt its nuclear programme. The case has echoes of the arms-to-Iraq affair during which the DTI approved exports of apparently innocent civilian equipment to Saddam Hussein that was then used to build weapons.

Posted by:Anonymoose

#32 IIRC, Tim Allen repaired his spaceship with a beryllium sphere.

Posted by: Mason 2006-07-23 22:20

#31 Raptor, they are heavy because those tools are mostly copper (beryllium copper). The beryllium (a very light metal - 1.9 g/cc) content is less than two percent.

Beryllium is a neutron generator when subjected to alpha particles. If you are making an implosion bomb a neutron generator is necessary to make certain there are enough neutrons to start the reaction before the implosion 'bounces'. The polonium/beryllium 'urchin' used in early weapons may be crude, but it's simple and reliable compared to an electronic neutron generator. The big problem was the short half life of polonium, requiring that the urchin be replaced on a short schedule.

Posted by: KBK 2006-07-23 20:41

#30 It went to Defense because Defense is building things where they need to test the soil. Tunnels, large concrete structures, things like that.

Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2006-07-23 17:24

#29 I still can't get over driving a truck from Kent to Tehran

Can you send such a cargo by air freight ?
Probably not.

Truck might be cheaper than by ship.

Posted by: john 2006-07-23 16:50

#28 john,

Thanks for the info. If you are correct in that, pulse neutron generators are readily available, then my second paragraph is probably more accurate.

Posted by: Poison Reverse 2006-07-23 16:16

#27 I still can't get over driving a truck from Kent to Tehran.
Being old sucks.
Maybe they should put some of those Bulgarian scanners in LeChunnel.

Posted by: J. D. Lux 2006-07-23 15:56

#26 Since the Iranian have a centrifuge program and not much of a reactor program, they would have to get their triggers in other ways.

Their research reactors may be small but power production isn't their purpose.. isotope production is one ...they even have a small plutonium separation capability.

They can use these for neutron initiator isotopes.

Posted by: john 2006-07-23 13:07

#25 thanks for the facts John.

Posted by: RD 2006-07-23 12:56

#24 John is right. These are soil density testers used on construction site very commonly here in the USA. If you've ever been near a construction site, you'vr probably seen these contraptions that look like steam rollers with teeth. These are soil compactors. Most plans specify between 90 and 100% compaction before laying roads, foundations, etc. These devices give of a neutron flux which can be used to measure soil compaction if calibrated correctly.

Atomic bombs generally have a neutron generator to help "catalyze" the reaction. They decay pretty quickly, so you have to replace it often. Since the Iranian have a centrifuge program and not much of a reactor program, they would have to get their triggers in other ways.

Posted by: 11A5S 2006-07-23 12:54

#23 We need to find out how radioactive caesium 137 and americium-beryllium plays a role with uranium or plutonium to make an actual nuclear warhead.

americium-beryllium is used to generate neutrons.. unlikely for a bomb initiator when pulse neutron generators are readily availble and more convenient

Posted by: john 2006-07-23 12:29

#22 And you need a lot more berylium than a few milligrams to construct the neutron reflectors needed for a weapon pit.
Iran is likely to have Beryll ore reserves.. what they lack would be the vacuum hot press machines needed to form the reflectors.

Posted by: john 2006-07-23 12:24

#21 The Iranians have operating research reactors and small accelerators .. they can produce all the Cs and Am radioisotopes they want.

Ten soil detectors are probably just that.. soil detectors. It is easier just to buy them from an international muanufacturer than make a few of them.

The Iranians are not going to emulate the Manhatten project designers and use an "urchin" (polonium 210 and Beryllium) as the neutron generator. This is 2006 and pulse neutron generators are readily available.

And they're certainly not going to harvest materials from soil detectors when they can make the stuff in their research facilities.

Posted by: john 2006-07-23 12:20

#20 if you wanted people to believe you had successfully tested a nuke, caesium 137 would be useful

of course, without an actual explosion seen by satellites, no really technical person would believe it but if your target audience were naive nutcases, it might work

Posted by: mhw 2006-07-23 11:59

#19 The Iranians are not interested in dirty bombs. They are after the real thing. We need to find out how radioactive caesium 137 and americium-beryllium plays a role with uranium or plutonium to make an actual nuclear warhead. We have to think outside the box. If we simply state that the Iranians are interested in dirty bombs, then true investigation doesnt go any further, which would make the Iranians very happy.

Also, this could be just a test run to find out which border facilities are the weakest. They can cross out the Bulgarian checkpoint from the list.

Posted by: Poison Reverse 2006-07-23 11:37

#18 p.s. tools are heavy as hell!

Posted by: raptor 2006-07-23 10:52

#17 Beryllium is also a heavy non-metalic metal used to contain radiation.We used beryllium(in hazmat remediation)because of its non-sparking,non-magnetic properties.various tools were made of it.Shovels,screw drivers,adjustable wrenches,etc.

Posted by: raptor 2006-07-23 10:40

#16 Give the Iranians radioactive material from the heavens above. Allan wills it.

Posted by: JohnQC 2006-07-23 10:34

#15 There were a number of control measures put inplace throughout the world when the USSR fell. Remember the nuke material was being sold on the black market and the West needed to stop it. Glad to see it is still up and working as advertised. Good job to those who put it in and continued to keep it working.

Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-07-23 09:50

#14 IIRC, Americum is a critical component of your typical home smoke detector. However, don't let the Enviromentalcases know that!

And it DOES make sense to order 100+ soil testers. Iran's a big place, so 10 testers can't possibly go very far. HOWEVER, it would make sense only if the Iranian AGRICULTURAL ministry, not the Iranian Military, were ordering the testers.

HWOEVER, DO keep in mind that the helicopters Saddam used to gas the Kurds were originally ordered, and justified, under the cover of them being used to gas insect crop pests.

Posted by: Ptah 2006-07-23 08:05

#13 EU is not going to be happy until they glow in the dark.

Posted by: djohn66 2006-07-23 06:33

#12 lone ranger - you'd think the Palestinians, Leb Hezbollah, Syrians and others might not be so excited that Iran could possibly wipe Israel off the map with a nuke. I guess it's all part of that death cult mindset!

Posted by: 2b 2006-07-23 05:58

#11 Typical idiot thinking by the blithering Iraniacs - "Gee, let's radioactively poison the landscape of Israel, with radioactive materials with really long half-lives. That will force the Jooooos to flee, allowing ...... the ~~dim witted~~ Palestinians to move in ~~and glow in the dark~~.

Posted by: Lone Ranger 2006-07-23 03:07

#10 Expect Iran to start whining about the evil Bulgarians withholding their purchase of ten times as many innocent soil-testing devices as they will ever need that just happen to contain highly radioactive material in 5,4,3 . . . .

Posted by: gorb 2006-07-23 03:03

#9 Maybe this will succeed in scaring the shit out of some lax officials and one or two of the doubters.

Nahhh.

Posted by: Snager Sning5858 2006-07-23 03:02

#8 Anniversary gift for the Mahdi?

Posted by: Seafarious 2006-07-23 01:31

#7 Physics was a long time ago for me but IIRC beryllium is a neutron reflector. Place your fissile core in a beryllium sphere and you get somewhat better yields from an equivalent critical mass and/or you can achieve the necessary uncontrolled fission reaction with a smaller critical mass. But then all I know about beryllium spheres I learned from watching The Shadow.

Posted by: AzCat 2006-07-23 01:29

#6 Well, the Iranians will probably need to manufacture a hell of a lot of smoke detectors soon. I don't know where the beryllium comes in though.

Posted by: Eric Jablow 2006-07-23 01:09

#5 sleep tite dont let the radioactive bed bugs bite.

Posted by: sweet slumber 2006-07-23 00:54

#4 heh, heh. Wonder if they collect the cash then alert the Bulgarians to "find" it. Let's hope so. Such a deal.

Posted by: 2b 2006-07-23 00:49

#3 DTI spokeman: "I don't know what this fuss is about... it would be, very likely, used only on jooos."

Posted by: twobyfour 2006-07-23 00:35

#2 You know that it's sad when the freakin' Bulgarians do a better job of securing these things than we or the British do.

Posted by: Ernest Brown 2006-07-23 00:19

#1 What would Hans Blix do?

Posted by: Captain America 2006-07-23 00:12

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