IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Tons of uranium have gone missing from Libya, raising nuclear security fears

The United Nations nuclear watchdog said it had informed member states of the news Wednesday.
Tons of uranium have gone missing from Libya
Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, informed member states Wednesday of the missing uranium.Alex Halada / AFP - Getty Images

Around 2.5 tons of natural uranium have gone missing from a site in war-torn Libya, the United Nations nuclear watchdog has revealed, raising security and safety fears.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement that its director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, informed member states about the missing uranium Wednesday.

During an inspection carried out Tuesday, “agency safeguards inspectors found that 10 drums containing approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of uranium ore concentrate were not present as previously declared at a location in the State of Libya,” the statement said.

The IAEA, agency in Vienna, added that it was carrying out “further activities” to “clarify the circumstances of the removal of the nuclear material and its current location."

Natural uranium can’t immediately be used to produce energy or bomb fuel, but — if it is obtained by a group with the technological means and resources — it could be refined to weapons-grade material over time and might also carry radiological risks in the event of prolonged exposure, experts say.

That makes finding the missing uranium a priority.

“The loss of so much uranium oxide, commonly known as yellowcake, is a huge concern, though it is not highly radioactive," said Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commander of the United Kingdom’s and NATO’s chemical, biological and nuclear defense forces.

De Bretton-Gordon said the uranium was "likely in powder form" and would need to be handled by people wearing hazmat suits and respirators.

"Ultimately this uranium could be enriched for nuclear power purposes to around 20% or nuclear weapons grade to around 90%, but this is not a trivial process and would need a highly advanced processing system to do this," he said. "However, we know that Iran and North Korea are working hard at this." 

"This is not ideal materiel for a dirty bomb," de Bretten-Gordon said, referring to a bomb augmented with a radioactive material, "but it could be used to spread low-level contamination over a wide area. We know both Russia and ISIS have discussed dirty bombs recently."

Russia claimed last year that Ukraine planned to deploy a so-called dirty bomb, but it provided no evidence. Fears of extremist groups' deploying such a device have also persisted.

With sophisticated security and policing systems in place, de Bretton-Gordon said, it was unlikely the nuclear material would be used for "nefarious reasons."

Reuters first reported on the IAEA warning about the missing Libyan uranium.

In 2003, Libya, under then-leader Moammar Gadhafi, renounced its nuclear weapons program, which had obtained centrifuges that could enrich uranium, as well as design information for a nuclear bomb, although it made little progress toward a bomb.

Libya has had little peace since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising ousted him.

Since 2014, political control has been split between rival eastern and western factions, with the last major bout of conflict ending in 2020.

Libya’s interim government, put in place in early 2021 through a U.N.-backed peace plan, was supposed to last only until an election scheduled for December of that year, which has still not been held, and its legitimacy is now also disputed.