EDITORIAL - Dirty bombs

With high-profile wanted persons able to slip out of the country while all sorts of contraband are smuggled in, from agricultural commodities to guns and shabu by the ton, it’s no longer surprising that even depleted uranium is now being traded in the country.

Between Oct. 18 and Nov. 9, in operations in the cities of Pasay, Mandaue and Cagayan de Oro, the National Bureau of Investigation seized about 26 kilos of substances containing depleted uranium and arrested several suspects. The substances include black powder, rocks and metal blocks that tested positive for Uranium-235 and Uranium-238, according to the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, whose personnel tipped off the NBI and accompanied the raiding teams. The PNRI personnel searched the premises in hazmat suits.

The PNRI, an agency under the Department of Science and Technology, in turn was tipped off earlier this year about the depleted uranium trading by the International Atomic Energy Agency. PNRI officials said the materials had been stored for some time in the places where they were found, and the sites had to be decontaminated.

While the materials have low levels of radioactivity, inhalation can affect the lungs, liver and kidneys and cause cancer, according to PNRI officials. While the seized items are not enriched uranium, which is used for nuclear weapons, depleted uranium can be used for making dirty bombs, which could fall into the hands of terrorists. Because of its unusual density, depleted uranium is also used for producing armor-piercing bullets and similar items.

PNRI and NBI officials said there were no indications that the suspects were trying to use the depleted uranium for bomb-making. Instead the suspects were peddling the uranium mostly to foreigners as precious metals. Still, the fact that they got hold of the materials and had an idea of the value of the uranium are causes for serious concern. Where did the uranium come from, and who were the potential buyers?

The country has enough problems being used as a transshipment point for illegal drugs. Radioactive materials that pose risks to public health and security should not be added to the list of illegal items that are trafficked through the country.