IAEA reports nuclear material found at Syria site
Monday, February 23, 2009 E-Mail this story Free Headline Alerts
LONDON Ñ Inspectors for the International Atomic Energy Agency have found traces of processed uranium in Syria.
The United Nations agency said the inspectors discovered uranium and graphite at a bombed site in Al Kibar, in the desert in northeastern Syria. The report did not determine whether the graphite, used in the construction of nuclear reactors, was nuclear-grade.
"It's not simple contamination by somebody who spent the day at some nuclear facility somewhere and then went to Al Kibar," a senior agency official said. "It's nuclear material that hasn't been declared and Syria has to explain."
In September 2007, the Israel Air Force bombed a building in Al Kibar that was identified by Israeli and U.S. intelligence as a Syrian nuclear weapons facility. The agency was allowed to visit the destroyed site in June 2008.
The report said the 80 uranium particles Ñ described by officials as significant Ñ were not reported by Syria to IAEA. The agency said the uranium did not stem from the Israeli air-to-ground missiles used to destroy Al Kibar.
"Current assessment is that there is a low probability that the uranium was introduced by the use of missiles," the report said. "The isotopic and chemical composition and the morphology of the particles are all inconsistent with what would be expected from the use of uranium based munitions."
"The presence of the uranium particles, the imagery of the site available to the agency and information about certain procurement activities need to be fully understood," the report added. "Syria therefore needs to provide additional information and supporting documentation about the past use and nature of the building and information about the procurement activities."
Officials said the agency was still analyzing the graphite to determine whether it came from a nuclear reactor in Al Kibar. They said Syria has not been cooperative in the agency investigation.
"[The Syrian responses] were only partial and included information already provided and did not address most of the questions raised in the agency's communications," the report said.