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Thursday, January 19, 2012

Another ‘Arab Spring’ disaster?


IRAN AWARE

Another ‘Arab Spring’ disaster?

Jeff Treesh
If the Islamists taking power weren’t enough, now it appears radioactive material has been stolen from a nuclear power station on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. As reported from the Egyptian state-run al-Ahram newspaper and Reuters Africa:
“A safe containing radioactive material at the Dabaa nuclear power plant was seized while another safe containing radioactive material was broken open and part of its contents taken, the newspaper said.
“The government has alerted security authorities and asked that specialized teams help in the search for the stolen material, al-Ahram reported.
“More than a dozen people were wounded last week when military police tried to disperse hundreds of Egyptian protesters demanding the relocation of the Dabaa plant, which is still under construction.
“Plant staff has refused to go to the site because of the deterioration in the security situation there, al-Ahram said.
“About 500 Egyptians rallied in front of the plant last week to demand that the project be terminated; with some saying they had lost their land on the plant’s site.”
What exactly was in the two safes has not been disclosed, but with Egypt’s current situation, and the ongoing Iranian issue the State Department needs to launch an investigation, as well as referring the matter immediately to the IAEA and the United Nations Security Council. It must be assumed that there will be bad intentions with this, as well as be prepared for a distinct possibility of a dirty bomb exploding in Israel. The recurring nightmare continues.
Update from National Post:
In Vienna, an official of the U.N. nuclear agency described the items missing as “low-level radioactive sources” which had been taken from a laboratory at the construction site. He could not give any details on the nature of the stolen items.
“We are in touch with the Egyptian authorities,” the official from the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
Al-Ahram said the government has alerted security authorities and asked that specialized teams help in the search for the stolen material.
Right, to the highest bidder…