Illegal uranium seized in Slovakia

A kilogram of radioactive material seized from three men trying to sell it for a million dollars was today identified as uranium.

A kilogram of radioactive material seized from three men trying to sell it for a $1m US was today identified as uranium.

However, police in Slovakia could not say if it had been enriched to weapons-grade.

“I can confirm that it was uranium-235 and uranium-238,” a spokesman said.

The material was found during the arrests of two suspects in eastern Slovakia and a third in Hungary yesterday.

Uranium is considered enriched if it contains more than 20% uranium-235, the fissile form of the element. It is considered weapons-grade if it contains at least 85 per cent uranium-235. Natural uranium contains less than 1 percent of the fissile isotope.

The arrests heightened concerns that Eastern Europe could be a source of radioactive material for a so-called “dirty bomb,” which would use conventional explosives to scatter radioactive debris.