Customs seizure
December 16, 2011
The Russian customs service said Friday it had seized radioactive material from the luggage of a passenger bound for Tehran at Moscow's Sheremetyevo international airport.
The material had triggered an alarm in the airport's radiation control system, showing radiation levels some 20 times higher than normal. A search led to the discovery of 18 pieces of radioactive metal packed in individual steel cylinders.
A spokeswoman said the material had been identified as sodium-22, a radioactive isotope of sodium. The material can be used in medical equipment.
The customs service said tests showed the material could only have been obtained "as a result of a nuclear reactor's operations." Sodium-22 does not occur naturally.
Investigation underway
It was not clear when the seizure was made. Prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into the incident.
Russia helped build Iran's first nuclear power station in the southern city of Bushehr, and also provides the country with isotopes of molybdenum-99 and iodine-131 for medical purposes and research.
The Russian government has echoed Western concerns about the nature of the Iranian nuclear program, but has stopped short of publicly accusing Iran of making nuclear weapons.
Experts have long called for tighter controls against nuclear smuggling to restrict Iran's access to materials it is barred from obtaining under UN Security Council sanctions.
Author: Joanna Impey (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Martin Kuebler