On 6 August 2002, Jewometaal alarmed the Inspectorate, that they had a radiation alarm of their portal detector. Using handheld survey equipment they measured a dose rate at the surface of a 40" container of 8 microSieverts per hour. Two officers of the Inspectorate went to the scrapyard to investigate the container. With a portabale gamma spectrometer they concluded that the radation source in the container was no gamma source but presumably a bèta source. They expected it to be a strontium-90 source. Three days later the container was unloaded by a firm specialised in tracing radioactive sources in scrap, supervised by an officer of the Inspectorate. In the container the firm found 9 identical stainless steel source holders with in each source holder a strontium-90 source. The sources were taken to a radiological facility and examined there. The source holders beared no identification marks. Each source holder weighs approximately 1.4 kgs and measures 12 cm long and 9 cm wide (see figures 1 - 4 in related documents). The doserate at the surface of the source holders varies from 16 to 31 microSieverts per hour. Inside every source holder a source capsule was present. Such a capsule is cylindrical in shape and attached to a 12 mm hexagonal metal piece with a threaded end (see figure 5 in related documents). The capsules bear no identification marks. The activities of the 9 sources vary from 71 to 138 MBq. The scrapload was shipped by Inna Grikis, Yerevan, Armenia. The container was shipped in Poti, Georgia and transported by MS Philipp. The container arrived in Rotterdam by MS Sofia. Since the source holders were all but one found in one metal drum (see figure 6), it seemed that these source holders were put there on purpose.
The Netherlands has agreed to allow Urenco to be used for the British military nuclear program. This clears the way for uranium enriched by Urenco to be used in nuclear weapons. With his decision, Foreign Minister Berendsen (CDA Christen Democrats) is departing from the principle that civilian and military nuclear applications must remain strictly separate. […]
Behnam Raeesian is an internationally recognized visual artist and poster designer from Iran, known for bold political and cultural works. Through exhibitions, workshops, jury roles, and collaborations with cultural institutions worldwide, he has built a strong voice in contemporary political graphic design. His projects confront complex issues such as nuclear risk and technological impact, transforming […]
Everywhere you look, the nuclear industry’s hype machine is in overdrive. Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and the UK government all tout small modular reactors as the silver bullet for climate change and energy security. Tech billionaires are hiring nuclear veterans. Wall Street is whispering about “round-the-clock power” for artificial intelligence data centers. For those old enough […]
Kernenergie en veiligheid: A wargame sought to test if a major radiological release that would prompt the evacuation of millions of civilians in South Korea could distract key US allies from assisting and rebuffing an all-out military invasion of Taiwan. The short answer was yes. The game originally presumed that China, wanting to keep the […]
Big batteries and EVs to the rescue again as faults with new nuclear plant cause chaos on Nordic grids The Finnish nuclear power plant Olkiluoto was finally connected to the grid last year, at an estimated cost of €11 billion compared to the original budget of €3 billion. That cost blowout forced its developer, the […]
