Libya: nuclear cop warns of 2.5 tons of uranium missing from test site

The news is worrisome given the security situation in the region. Inspectors from the United Nations Nuclear Regulatory Service found about 2.5 tons of natural uranium missing at a non-government controlled Libyan facility, Atomic Energy (IAEA) said in a statement seen by Reuters.

The discovery is the result of an inspection originally scheduled for last year, which “had to be postponed due to instability in the region, and which, according to a confidential statement by IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, was finally carried out on Tuesday.” The inspectors “found that 10 drums containing approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of UOC (Uranium Ore Concentrate) previously declared (by Libya) for storage were not in place,” the press release added, which did not specify site location.

“Loss of information about the current location of nuclear materials could pose a radiological risk as well as a nuclear safety issue,” the IAEA warns, adding that access to the site requires “difficult logistics.”

In 2003, Libya, led by Muammar Gaddafi, abandoned its nuclear weapons program, receiving, in particular, centrifuges capable of enriching uranium. Since then, an uprising toppled the regime in 2011 and the country has fallen into chaos.