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.
An accident aboard numerous Volgoneft oil tankers in the Kerch in mid December clearly show what can happen to aged ships when they are operated in bad weather—and when economic and military objectives are prioritized over the lives of crews and environmental safety.
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.
A survey of events in the field of nuclear and radiation safety relating to Russia and Ukraine.
A visit last week by Vladimir Putin and a Kremlin entourage to Astana, Kazakhstan sought in part to put Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, on good footing with local officials.