Stolen Radioactive Material Found in Iraq

(Image credit: Guido Vrola/dreamstime)

A cache of radioactive material that went missing months ago has been found dumped in a town south of Basra, Iraq.

The radioactive material, called iridium-192, went missing from an oil storage facility near Basra in November 2015. Some security experts worried that groups such as the Islamic State had stolen the material for use in a dirty bomb.

"After initial checking I can confirm the device is intact 100 percent and there is absolutely no concern of radiation," the chief of the security panel within Basra provincial council, Jabbar al-Saidi, told Reuters.

It's still not clear who took the material to the town and what they intended, officials say.

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Tia is the editor-in-chief (premium) and was formerly managing editor and senior writer for Live Science. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, Wired.com, Science News and other outlets. She holds a master's degree in bioengineering from the University of Washington, a graduate certificate in science writing from UC Santa Cruz and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Tia was part of a team at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that published the Empty Cradles series on preterm births, which won multiple awards, including the 2012 Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism.