University of Idaho lost 1 gram of weapons-grade plutonium

Ring of pure electro-refined weapon-grade plutonium (5.3 kg). Photo: US Department of Energy

On May 4, 2018, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that Idaho State University faces a fine of $ 8,500 for the loss of one gram of weapons-grade plutonium. Although this amount of substance is not enough for the production of nuclear weapons, but experts believe that it can be used to make a "dirty bomb."

The “dirty bomb” is the simplest version of a radiological weapon. When detonation does not occur a nuclear reaction, and the radioactive material is simply sprayed into the affected area. The inventor of this bomb is considered to be the writer Robert Heinlein, who first described the “dirty bomb” in the story “A Useless Solution” in 1940.

“The Nuclear Regulatory Commission very strictly controls the use and storage of radioactive materials, as evidenced by this enforcement action,” said Victor Dricks, a regulatory official.

The university reported plutonium loss in October 2017, when, as a result of the planned inventory, only 13 of 14 sources of plutonium were found, each weighing about 1 gram.

At the university, radioactive materials are used for scientific research, but now the administration of the institution cannot explain why the actual remnants of the material do not agree with the calculated ones. University research vice president Dr. Cornelis Van der Schiff (Cornelis Van der Schyf) blames the incomplete papers 15 years ago when the university tried to get rid of plutonium.

The administration found records from 2003–2004 that the material was on campus and was awaiting disposal. But there were no documents proving that plutonium was properly disposed of. The last document, which mentions plutonium, is dated November 23, 2003. It says that the Idaho National Laboratory refuses plutonium, and the university’s technical security department “is preparing its burial with the next batch of waste.”

Employees raised the archive and examined the documentation for each waste drum. In the end, they searched the campus, but did not find plutonium.

“Unfortunately, due to the lack of sufficient historical records of disposal methods in 2003, this source had to be listed as missing,” explained Dr. Cornelis van der Scheuif. “The radioactive source under consideration does not pose a direct health problem or a risk to public safety.”

The University of Idaho has its own nuclear development program and collaborates with the Idaho National Laboratory of the US Department of Energy, which is considered to be the center of nuclear research in the United States and located about 105 km northwest of the university.

In university studies, plutonium was used to develop protection against leakage of containers with nuclear waste and to find ways to detect radioactive materials illegally imported into the United States. According to science fiction films, criminals can bring radioactive materials into the US for use as a “dirty bomb”. Such weapons cause long-term damage to the territory, leading to radiation contamination of soil, water and foci of radiation sickness in large areas. Cleaning the area can take a long time.

An example of a lethal effect millions of times more powerful "dirty bomb" can be considered the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (the energy equivalent of a thermal explosion was 30-100 tons of TNT). As a result of the fallout of radioactive fallout and the spread of radioactive dust, thousands of square kilometers in several countries were affected, and part of the territory was declared unfit for habitation.

Formally, the "dirty bomb" can be considered as shells with striking elements made of depleted uranium-238, which are in service with the armies of the United States, Russia and Great Britain. Formally, such weapons can be attributed to radiological, although in fact the radioactivity introduced by them is comparable to the natural radioactivity of potash fertilizers (potassium-40) or facing materials from granite ( source ).

Although radiological weapons were mentioned in dozens of books and movies, these weapons have never been used in reality. Thus, the "dirty bomb" still belongs to the category of fiction.

Losses of weapons-grade plutonium in the United States are extremely rare, while in other countries they occur relatively often , which suggests the appearance of “dirty bombs”.