IAEA concern over radioactive sources

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has voiced concern over radioactive waste in Tajikistan falling into the wrong hands and being used by terrorists to make "dirty bombs", and called for greater efforts to keep such material secure. "Since 11 September, the idea of there being dirty bombs being made from radioactive waste is of concern, particularly if the terrorists get hold of them," the head of the IAEA's waste safety section, Gordon Linsley, told IRIN from the Austrian capital, Vienna, on Tuesday. A dirty bomb is a conventional explosive surrounded by radioactive material with the aim of dispersing the radioactive component in the form of a fine powder capable of contaminating an extensive area, thereby mainly to evoke anxiety over radiation, and causing disruption rather than deaths. Tajikistan is a uranium-rich country, giving rise to concern. "We know that Russians were mining uranium here, and that is why Tajikistan is being asked to control its sources," Linsley said. There are thousands of tonnes of radioactive waste, or tailings, which are of low activity, but nonetheless higher than normal, according to Linsley. "I think the control could be improved in Tajikistan, but it is not alone in trying to tackle the problem; other countries should follow," he said. The national waste-disposal facility is in Fayzabad, some 50 km east of the capital, Dushanbe, and media reports suggest that it is located in the vicinity of residential areas. In the northern Leninobod region, Linsley said, there was a total of 50 million mt of uranium tailings sitting on the surface of the land. "This is not uncommon, and not something which is going to cause an emergency." He explained that there was a higher risk from a big radiation source such as a hospital, which could kill a person quickly. The big sources are often in hospitals, such as those used in radiotherapy. One of the problems facing all the former Soviet states is the fact that expertise on this issue in them was largely confined to Russians, who were withdrawn when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, leaving the newly independent countries ill-equipped to deal with the problem. "They need help in re-educating experts to make sure the sources are managed in a safe way," Linsley said. At present, measures to help states control radioactive waste include a trilateral arrangement whereby the US, Russia and the IAEA are funding programmes to make all potentially dangerous radiation sources safe. Several IAEA missions have already been made to Tajikistan. The most recent was in August 2002, following the crash of a helicopter which was carrying a radiation source. "We have supplied them with some equipment to measure radiation levels themselves," Linsley said.