The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is concerned over a missing radioactive device from Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor, Saudi-owned Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported on Thursday.
Aside from the security concerns, at the forefront in the GCC's mind is what impact the radioactive device-wherever it may be today-could have on water supplies.
According to the newspaper, the device went missing after the car transporting it was stolen. Thankfully, the vehicle was recovered, but the radioactive nuclear device was not so lucky.
The GCC has contacted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over the incident-both organizations are concerned that Iran's nuclear program may pollute the waters in the Gulf, Asharq al-Awsat quoted GCC Emergency Management Center chairman, Adnan al-Tamimi, as saying.
Most members of the GCC - which includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman - desalinate sea water from the Gulf. If contamination from the device were to reach desalination stations, an already critical situation becomes even more critical.
The missing device is set to lose half of its power after 74 days of inactivity, Tamimi said, noting that it still should be handled with care even after that period.
Speaking to Asharq al-Awsat, the Arab official criticized Iran's low security and safety levels at the Bushehr reactor, adding that the lack of Iranian transparency about its nuclear program adds further concerns and anxiousness for the Arab Gulf states.
Related: OPEC Cancels Meeting With Non-OPEC Players, Dooming Oil Prices
Iran's nuclear program has recently entered the spotlight again after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election. In March of this year, Trump said in a speech addressing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee:
"My number-one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran."
If Trump were willing and able to deliver on that promise by tearing up the deal, Iran would once again impact the oil market, dragging down Iran's oil exports from the near-pre-sanctions levels it has almost reached in recent months.
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of extending the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) from 1996 through December 31, 2026. The act-adopted long before the most recent international sanctions against Tehran-was aimed at punishing investments in the Iranian energy industry and deterring the country from pursuing the development of nuclear weapons.
Last week's bill to extend the ISA after its expiry next month still needs Senate approval and President Obama's signature to become law.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More
Comments
Why would you give them this information? Even if you edit the info out of the article now they probably have already read it.
This was not thought out very well. Hopefully this story is false.
SMH!!!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotopes_of_iridium
And then, "...but the radioactive nuclear device was not so lucky". Poor, lost little nuclear device. I was unaware a device could experience misfortune or anything else for that matter, but I guess I'm mistaken.
By the way, how IS that Iran nuclear dealing going, Mr. B.O.?
How big is the boojum? Typically 2.7 mm diameter by 0.15 mm thick . Drop it anywhere and it's invisible - like in a suicide belt if you are quick about it.
I searched as well but failed to see Iridium. Your material sounds much more plausible than the Iranians having any interest in cosmology, other than sporadic attempts to contact the Klingons...
It was being moved from point A to point B in a car.
And the car was stolen, with the emitter in it.
And there were NO security guards to keep it safe and secure?
I'm sorry. I learned, a long time ago, that Iranians ARE NOT THAT STUPID. not the ones who are in charge of those facilities. They do think that everyone else *IS* that stupid, so this is the kind of cover story they'd put out, and expect everyone else to believe it.
The good news is that the half-life imposes a very limited window of opportunity for them to use the device, for whatever purpose they intend. If I were guessing, I'd say that someone intends to use it for its intended purpose, nondestructive material testing, but they REALLY don't want anyone in the West knowing what they are inspecting, so they REALLY don't want anyone to know about them moving it to wherever. Hence the story about it being "stolen".
The radioactive element closest in half life to the time span reported above is Cobalt 56 which has a half life of 77 days. Possibly the material was a few days old when reported stolen, which would account for the reduced number of days in the article. Cobalt 56 has little real practical value other than research. Its presence in space is an indicator of a supernova.
Don't stay awake worrying about this, it's likely that if the material was being transported in a car, it's a small-enough amount to be fairly innocuous to a large population, and will become increasingly so as time passes.
Under NO circumstances can islamofascists EVER have a nuclear weapon.
President O'shiite (born to a shiite father hence by sharia law he is a muslim) has been kissing the islamofascists rear ends from day one. This 'deal' he made will live in infamy.
The islamofascists will never stop until the world is either 100% there brand of islam or ruled by them entirely subjugating the rest of us. B.O. has made them a super power. Thank God our great country just repudiated all that he stands for.
Unfortunately this is a click bait story with no details
Radioactive materials "stolen" from us! Oh, the horror!
We weren't responsible for that dirty bomb...
Thanks Obama for letting Iran go ahead with their program.
Iran is the worlds largest backer, advisor, financer and supplier to world wide TERRORISM groups as of Nov. 27, 2016. Most favored, those that oppose the U S interests. Turkey and Iran Have so much to gain in Syria's proxy combatants.
The Russians and we Americans have so much at stake
And a G%d D^%N piece of Hot Radioactive Material goes frigging conveniently missing from a frigging stolen car in IRAN.
Whether that's it nor not, a half-life that short sounds like something used for radiography, not for nuclear devices. It could be a pretty horrible "dirty bomb" component, though.
The sale proceeds will go towards an independent effort to bomb iran's nuclear facilities and the offices of the mullahs.