The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirms 149 incidents of illicit trafficking and other unauthorized activities involving nuclear and radioactive materials took place in 2006. Source: “UN atomic watchdog agency reports cases of illegal trafficking in nuclear materials,” UN News Service, February 1, 2007,(accessed: February 6, 2007).

According to Stephen Flynn, author of America the Vulnerable, ” Weapons-usable nuclear materials exist in over 130 research laboratories operating in more than forty countries around the world, ranging from Ukraine to Ghana.” Source: Stephen Flynn, America the Vulnerable,(New York: HarperCollins, 2004),pg. 4.

Colombian authorities have seized uranium from the guerrilla organization FARC. From Reuters: The material was found in a rural area long considered a guerrilla stronghold just south of the capital city Bogota. It is being examined by state experts, said a Defense Ministry statement. The statement did not say where the uranium came from or what it could [...]

Mohamed Elbaradei, head of the UN”s International Atomic Energy Agency, stated that his organization handles 150 cases of nuclear trafficking incidents a year. From the Los Angeles Times: He warned of the danger of nuclear material falling into the hands of extremist groups, nurtured on “anger, humiliation and desperation” in the Middle East or elsewhere. He said the [...]

From the AP: Members of Congress have warned about the dangers of suitcase nuclear weapons. Hollywood has made television shows and movies about them. Even the Federal Emergency Management Agency has alerted Americans to a threat — information the White House includes on its Web site. But government experts and intelligence officials say such a threat [...]

A column in The Bulletin Online argues that the current assumptions regarding the trafficking of nuclear materials is incorrect. Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley writes that the belief that a nuclear black market exists in the former Soviet Union is based on false premises. The supposed nuclear black market in the former Soviet Union lacks an important component of [...]