Intense search on to trace Iraq’s lost radioactive material: US

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 US oilfield services company Weatherford, officials said. The material, which uses gamma rays to test flaws in materials used for oil and gas pipelines in a process called industrial gamma radiography, is owned by Istanbul-based SGS Turkey, according to the document and officials. 

In Washington, a US official said the United States was aware that Iraq had reported a missing specialized camera containing highly radioactive Iridium-192 to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, in November. 

“They’ve been looking for it ever since. Whether it was just misplaced, or actually stolen, isn’t clear,” said the official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. 

The environment ministry document, dated November 30 and addressed to the ministry’s Centre for Prevention of Radiation, describes “the theft of a highly dangerous radioactive source of Ir-192 with highly radioactive activity belonging to SGS from a depot belonging to Weatherford in the Rafidhia area of Basra province”. 

The material is classed as a Category 2 radioactive source by the International Atomic Energy Agency, meaning if not managed properly it could cause permanent injury to a person in close proximity to it for minutes or hours, and could be fatal to someone exposed for a period of hours to days. 

How harmful exposure can be is determined by a number of factors such as the material’s strength and age. The ministry document said it posed a risk of bodily and environmental harm as well as a national security threat.