23/09/2004

Agency reveals scale of illicit trade in atomic material

The massive scale of the illicit trade in nuclear material has been revealed by the UN's atomic watchdog which claimed that there have been close to 60 incidents of illegal trafficking since the beginning of the year.

The trafficking includes possible cases of unauthorized acquisition, provision, possession, use, transfer or disposal of nuclear material and other radioactive material.

The UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued its trafficking warning at its 48th General Conference in Vienna this week.

In a report to the Agency’s Board of Governors last week, IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei warned that although preventive efforts continue to accelerate and expand, “clearly, the circumstances that first led to a plan for protection against nuclear and radiological terrorism have not diminished".

Some 540 illicit incidents spanning the past decade were reported through December 2003, but “as of today, the number is closer to 600, subject to fuller review and confirmation”, the IAEA said.

Several hundred additional incidents, reported in open sources but not confirmed by states, are also tracked in the IAEA database but not included in the confirmed statistics. Of the 540 confirmed cases as of December, 182 involved nuclear material, 330 radioactive material other than nuclear, 23 both nuclear and other radioactive material, and five other material.

The database includes reported incidents from the 80 participating Member States. Non-participating States are urged to join the Database in order to enhance the programme.

(gmcg/mb)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

22 April 2004
Thousands dead or injured in North Korean rail disaster
Around 3,000 people have been killed and injured following a rail explosion in North Korea, according to reports emerging today.
27 May 2004
UN welcomes US-led nuclear security initiative
A new US plan to strengthen nuclear security around the world has been welcomed by the UN atomic watchdog agency.
06 February 2004
Black market in nuclear technology must be stopped: IAEA
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency has called for "urgent action" against nuclear proliferation black marketeers, warning that recent cases of covert trading were "just the tip of the iceberg".
04 December 2006
PM unveils nuclear weapons plans
Prime Minister Tony Blair has told the Commons that the UK's current Trident missile system will have to be replaced. Speaking to the House of Commons, Mr Blair said that the decision to maintain the government's independent nuclear power deterrent was "fully consistent with all our international obligations".
21 April 2004
Sellafield set to reduce radioactive discharges
Sellafield, the British Nuclear Fuels-run power station in Cumbria, is set to cut discharges of a certain type of radioactive material by 90% – waste matter which had been pumped into the Irish Sea.