Terrorists Could Acquire Australian Nuclear Waste for "Dirty Bomb," Expert Says -- Global Security Newswire

Terrorists Could Acquire Australian Nuclear Waste for "Dirty Bomb," Expert Says -- Global Security Newswire

An expert has warned that relocating unwanted nuclear material to a proposed national repository in Australia could make the waste vulnerable to seizure by extremists, the Sydney Morning Herald reported today (see GSN, May 11, 2009).

The proposal would open a trove of material usable in a radiological "dirty bomb" to theft during transit, said John Large, a British nuclear analyst who has consulted for government and private groups. The plan would involve the land-based transfer of radioactive material over great distances to the proposed site, located at Muckaty station in Australia's Northern Territory.