Tons of uranium missing from Libyan site, IAEA tells member states

U.N. nuclear watchdog inspectors have found that roughly 2.5
tons of natural uranium have gone missing from a Libyan site that
is not under government control, the watchdog told member states in
a statement on Wednesday, Trend reports citing Reuters.

The finding is the result of an inspection originally planned
for last year that “had to be postponed because of the security
situation in the region” and was finally carried out on Tuesday,
according to the confidential statement by International Atomic
Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi.

IAEA inspectors “found that 10 drums containing approximately
2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of UOC (uranium ore
concentrate) previously declared by (Libya) … as being stored at
that location were not present at the location,” the one-page
statement said.

The agency would carry out “further activities” to determine the
circumstances of the uranium’s removal from the site, which it did
not name, and where it is now, the statement added.

“The loss of knowledge about the present location of nuclear
material may present a radiological risk, as well as nuclear
security concerns,” it said, adding that reaching the site required
“complex logistics”.