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Preventing and combating illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive material

JRC Information Day and S&T Workshops Bucharest – 11 May 2006. Preventing and combating illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive material Klaus Lützenkirchen Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU), Joint Research Centre, European Commission Karlsruhe, Germany.

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Preventing and combating illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive material

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  1. JRC Information Day and S&T Workshops Bucharest – 11 May 2006 Preventing and combating illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive material Klaus Lützenkirchen Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU), Joint Research Centre, European Commission Karlsruhe, Germany JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  2. Illicit Trafficking andNuclear Forensics • Traditional Safeguards and Physical Protection fail(operator accountancy versus verification) • Illicit trafficking of nuclear material • Seizure (border control, intelligence services) • Nuclear Forensic analysis JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  3. UO2 Fuel • stolen in Lithuania, • seized in Poland, • produced in Russia, • analysed at JRC-ITU (Source IAEA) Fight against Illicit Trafficking • Threat by nuclear terrorism: • Theft of nuclear material to produce a nuclear explosive device • Theft of radioactive material ( Dirty Bomb) JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  4. Illicit Trafficking of Nuclear Material Projects with Romania – Training sessions for law enforcement services and laboratory experts jointly with IAEA (2002, …): New EU and CC, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova,… – ModelAction Plan: RITNUM Handbook national Response to Illicit Trafficking of Nuclear Material (developed jointly with ITWG) – Delivery of portable equipment for categorisation of material – Demonstration exercises inside countries and at borders : 07/2002 Bucharest, 10/2002 BG/TR, 09/2004 PL/BY, …. JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  5. Illicit trafficking and radiation detection Handheld Gamma Spectrometers (Support to IAEA) Exploranium: GR-135 NaI XRF: ICS-4000 CdTe target fieldSPEC SAIC: RADSMART JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  6. Romania 18 July, 2002 Demonstration Exercise JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  7. Braşov County, Romania,10 May 2006Interception of illegal transport National Exercise on Combating Nuclear Terrorism JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  8. Joint Demonstration Exercise Border Bulgaria/Turkey - Kapikule, Oct. 2002 JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  9. TACIS projects with Ukraine and Moldova Future EU border: Romania with Ukraine and Moldova • Joint border exercises JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  10. Russian Federation Republic of Kazakhstan Republic of Georgia Ukraine Multicountry ProjectCOOPERATIONthat counts Republic of Azerbaijan Republic of Moldova The TACIS Multicountry Project to combat illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive material • training of personnel • installation of hand-held and mobile equipment • Improvement of scientific/technical infrastructure • implementation of the RITNUM handbook and creation of a Model Action Plan • demonstration exercises • workshop to strengthen regional co-operation and co-ordination • Joint Analysis Agreement to analyze seized material Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States Estimated duration: 60 months JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  11. What is Nuclear Forensics ? Information on the nature of the seized material, its intended use and its origin Fingerprint ? Characteristic properties (isotopic composition, trace elements, macro- and microscopic structure) Origin, legal owner, intended use, … Examples JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  12. Nuclear Forensics ? JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  13. Nuclear Forensics • Origin and intended use ? • First observations/conclusions: • geometry  5 x 5 x 5 cm, unconventional application/reactor • elemental composition  pure U metal • isotopic composition  natural U  D2O or graphite moderated reactor • main impurities  Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, Pb, Si (200 mg material) JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  14. Geometry points at German origin Nuclear Forensics • 1. Origin • Nuclear Materials Database • nuclear fuel data from western and Russian suppliers (UO2, MOX) (based on World Nuclear Industry Handbook and bilateral contracts, various degrees of access) • Electronic literature archive on non- conventional fuels (Russian sources) • Open literature JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  15. Age via 234U / 230Th 5*107 α-spec.: 59.0  1.5 years After 20 years 2*104 ICP-MS: 59.3  2.0 years => Date of production: second half of 1943 Nuclear Forensics • 2. Age determination • spiking with 228Th (or 233Pa) • chemical separation • measurement: alpha spectrometry or mass spectrometry • Age indicates German (or US) nuclear programme JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  16. Case Study Illicit Trafficking - Case Study : Find 26 – Rotterdam On 16th Dec. 2003- 2-3 kg radioactive material was detected in a scrap metal shipment in Rotterdam harbour. The shipment arrived from a dealer in Jordan. Materials sent to ITU on 10th March 2004 and consisted of 2 bulk samples and 3 swipes. JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  17. Results - bulk •  Lead isotopics • Pb-204 = 1.47 % • Pb-206 = 24.83 % • Pb-207 = 21.47 % • Pb-208 = 52.24 % • resembles natural lead, no radiogenic lead • Anions (qualitative) • (NO3)- and (CO3)2- •  ICP-MS • Main impurities (>1000 ppm): Al, Ca, Cr, Fe, Mg, Mo, Na, Ni, P • Gamma spectrometry • U-235 enrichment 0,7 % • TIMS and MC-ICP-MS • U-234 = 0,0052 % • U-235 = 0,712 % • U-238 = 99,283 % • natural uranium, no indication of an enriched or irradiated uranium • Titration • U-content ~70 % JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  18. 200 m 20 m Results - bulk • SEM/EDX • agglomerates of small crystals with an average length of 10 µm and diameter of 2 µm • uranium together with Fe, Ni and Cr • Al, Ca, Mg and Si were in the amorphous part around JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  19. Find-26: Rotterdam What information did the analysis yield? • Bulk material: • natural uranium oxides with ≈ 70% U • presence of (CO3)2- • main impurities: Al, Ca, Cr, Fe, Mg, Mo, Na, Ni, P • lead isotopic composition • Swipes: • natural uranium, Cs-137, Eu-154 and Am-241 (evidence of nuclear activities) • Intermediate product, possibly (NH4)4(UO2)(CO3)3 • Impurities point to phosphate rich ores (North Africa, Middle East, USA, South Africa, Brazil) • Pb isotopic composition (natural) indicates low uranium content in the ore, which is the case for P-rich ores • evidence of nuclear activities • Origin of the material: combination of scientific results and information from other services JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  20. Radioactive Dispersion Devices (RDDs) or Dirty Bombs) What is a “dirty bomb”? A “dirty bomb,” also known as a radiological weapon, is a conventional explosive such as dynamite packaged with radioactive material that scatters when the bomb goes off. A dirty bomb kills or injures through the initial blast of the conventional explosive and by airborne radiation and contamination—hence the term “dirty.” JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  21. effective dose scale (inhalation) Radioactive Dispersion Devices The propagation of the radioactive cloud in a city RDD with 2000 Ci 60Co (7.4∙1013 Bq) 1.5 kg conv. explosives Inhalation dose in the center of the explosion: 680 mSv Total for 2 hours Time after the detonation: 70 minutes 60 minutes 50 minutes 30 minutes 20 minutes 40 minutes 10 minutes In collaboration with the BfS, Germany scale 1:10,000 DMA IKONOS satellite map (wind with 0.5 m/s from 290° north, weather conditions neutral/unstable) No real explosion! JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

  22. Illicit Trafficking of Nuclear and Radioactive Materials Conclusions: The JRC… • has extensive experience in working with IAEA, EU member states, national and international organisations in combating illicit trafficking of nuclear material • has the experience, dedicated facilities and extensive databases for nuclear forensic analyses • is developing tools for modelling / scenario assessment reports for and post event support following a Radioactive Dispersion Event JRC Info Day - Bucureşti, 11.05.06

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