News
Publish date: September 8, 1998
Written by: Thomas Nilsen
News
According to the Istanbul police, the seized uranium and plutonium, brought to Turkey from an unspecified source in Russia, could be used for nuclear weapons production. The police acted as potential buyers when they seized the nuclear material and arrested eight people. The arrested tried to sell the material for $1 million. The Istanbul prosecutor office is interrogating the suspects.
The French news agency AFP reports that the uranium and plutonium was sent to Turkey’s Atomic Research Institute in Istanbul to be examined further. This is not the first time radioactive isotopes from Russia have been seized in Turkey, but according to the police this is the first time Turkey has seized such material for alleged use in weapons production.
Throughout the past year, our mission at the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center has focused on two key, but intertwined issues—nuclear and radiation safety as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, and the worldwide influence of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which itself is actively involved in the war and has participated in the occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
At the beginning of the year, reports in the German and Russian press suggested an approximate 70% increase in uranium imports from Russia to Germany in 2024. But does this reflect broader European trends? It does not. Overall, imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia to Western countries actually dropped sharply in 2024. Unlike the situation in Germany, this is already an established trend.
A Lingen, Germany plant could begin producing nuclear fuel in cooperation with a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, which is directly involved in the war in Ukraine and occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.