United Nations Radio

The United Nations nuclear watchdog has safely removed powerful radioactive sources from Lebanon, including Cobalt-60, a single source of which is enough to kill a person within minutes if he or she is directly exposed to it.

IAEA-computed tomagraphy

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, said the mission was completed at the end of August, when a plane carrying the high-activity cargo safely touched down in Russia, where the sources are now securely and safely stored.

Robin Heard, an IAEA radioactive source specialist, oversaw the mission.

"Given the political situation in the Middle East and particularly in Lebanon, we saw this source as vulnerable to malicious acts. If it was stolen, it could cause a lot of damage to people."

The mission involved extracting the radioactive sources from an irradiator that ad been used for an agricultural project some ten years ago. The project ended and the staff that knew how to look after the irradiation had left the organization. The Council of the European Union provided nearly 4 million Euros to the IAEA's Nuclear Security Fund to secure high security sources, like these, in the Middle East.

Jocelyne Sambira, United Nations Radio
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