Radiological Weapons:  Laos Denies Involvement in Thai Cesium Incident

Laos yesterday denied involvement in efforts to smuggle radioactive materials into Thailand (see GSN, June 18).

Thai authorities last week arrested a man in Bangkok who was attempting to sell cesium 137.  During interrogations, the man said the material was smuggled from Russia into Laos and that additional quantities were still being stored there.

Laotian authorities, however, have found no radioactive materials after investigating the claim, Laotian Foreign Minister Somsavat Lengsavat said.

“We have no idea what kind of substance it is.  I am surprised about the report,” Somsavat said.  “Please do not involve Laos in every bad story about what Thai people have done,” he added (The Nation/BBC Worldwide Monitoring, June 19).

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Radiological Weapons I:  Thai Officials Believe Additional Cesium 137 Remains in Laos

Thai officials investigating a man who was recently arrested in Bangkok for trying to sell cesium 137 believe additional quantities of the material still remain in neighboring Laos, the Wall Street Journal reported today (see GSN, June 16).

Narong Penanam, who was arrested in the attempted cesium sale, has told interrogators that the material originated in Russia and was shipped to Thailand through Laos, a Thai spokesman said.  Thai officials believe two large caches of cesium still remain in Laos, along with at least one of Narong’s accomplices, according to the Journal.

“It’s still an open case,” said a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok.  “The recent big bust is part of an ongoing investigation into where the material originated, who the potential buyers were and who else may have been involved,” the spokesman said.

Narong has also told authorities that he obtained the cesium from the aide of a deceased Thai Air Force marshal, the Journal reported.  The Thai Air Force has denied any involvement with the cesium and said it does not know how it was obtained.

The blocked cesium sale in Thailand has raised concerns that proliferation is beginning to pose a problem in a region where it has not previously been seen, the Journal reported.

“Historically the region has been just about completely free of any sort of proliferation threat,” said a Western diplomat based in Bangkok.  After the recent arrest though, “it appears anything is possible,” the diplomat said (Crispin/Fields, Wall Street Journal, June 18).

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Radiological Weapons II:  “Dirty Bomb” Materials Trafficked in Africa, IAEA Says

The International Atomic Energy Agency yesterday said the illegal trafficking of “dirty bomb” materials in Africa has become an alarming problem, the London Financial Times reported today (see GSN, Dec. 19).

“Illicit trafficking in nuclear materials is an increasing problem for states in Africa,” according to an internal report presented to the agency’s board in Vienna.  Over the past year, the IAEA has sent special missions to some African countries to help them manage suspicious material seized from traffickers.

“What I am afraid of is that if an incident occurred in certain cities today, there would be a complete panic,” said Abel Julio Gonzalez, director of radiation and waste safety at the IAEA (Gillian Tett, London Financial Times, June 18).

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