On April 19, 2007 the on field surveyors from the Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission (LAEC) were performing their routine surveillance of the scrap containers prepared for export on Tripoli Port. Using handheld survey equipment (Exploranium GR-110), they measured a reading equivalent to 220 nanoSv/hr on a 20 ft container (background is around 70 nanoSv/hr). They unloaded the container and upon tracing the source of radiation they found a lead sphere-like object which was expected to be a source shield, within it a cesium-137 source was found. The shield had a broken identification metal tag bearing information about the source. The writing clearly stated it is a Cs-137 source with 30 mCi activity. It also held the company name: Endress+Hauser. The 'source holder' weighs around 80 kilograms, with a horizontal diameter of around 20 cm and a vertical diameter of around 30 cm. There is a cubic base of around 25 cm side length. The dose rate in the centre of the radiation-bundle at 10 cm distance of the source holder was about 0.6mSv/hr hour. The annex contains pictures of the recovered source. The scrapload by Al Tawil Company bought from Al Khaled. The origin of the source is still under investigation. The source has been transported to LAEC for temporary storage.
Location: El Khaled Scrapyard / Tripoli Event date: Thu, 19-04-2007
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 […]
