Dec 05 2006
Iran And Polonium-210
One angle which has not been explored sufficiently is that of Iran and Polonium-210. It was reported back in Feb 2004 that Iran has produced Polonium as part of their nuclear production efforts:
WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (AFP) — Iran produced and experimented with polonium — used in the timing of nuclear explosions — some time ago, but says it was not used for such purposes, The Washington Post said Tuesday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency will include Iran’s experimentation with polonium in a report to be submitted this week at the United Nations, two people familiar with the report told the daily.
Iran has submitted to IAEA inspections to show the world it does not have nuclear weapons ambitions, but its dabbling with polonium coupled with the IAEA’s discovery of components for an advanced uranium-enrichment centrifuge have raised serious doubts about Tehran’s forthrightness.
Iran has acknowledged the experiments with polonium but has offered an explanation involving another of polonium’s possible uses, including power generation.
The IAEA has left the issue “hanging there,” one person familiar with the matter told the Post.
He said the experiments took place “some time ago,” the daily added.
Polonium has some industrial purposes, but in combination with beryllium it can be used to ensure the chain reaction leading to a nuclear explosion begins at the right time.
More here with the clear implication that where you find large amounts of Polonium you may find a nuclear weapon. As we all now know Polonium has very limited use in the general commercial market due to its toxicity. So let’s assume the reports that the Russian production of Polonium has been suspended for two years now and all inventories and exports have been accounted for. That would make the Iranians a plausible secondary source. Let’s connect some dots between Russia and Iran’s nuclear program:
Russia and Iran have signed an agreement for Moscow to supply fuel to Iran’s new nuclear reactor in Bushehr.
Under the deal Iran has to return spent nuclear fuel rods from the reactor, which was designed and built by Russia.
The clause is a safeguard meant to banish fears that Iran might misuse the rods to build nuclear weapons, a concern of the US, Israel and others.
The agreement sets out a time-frame for delivery of the fuel, but officials said the dates would be kept secret.
This kind of arrangement is what many on the left might like to see with Iran as opposed to the Bush administration’s efforts to halt Iran’s nuclear program. It was hoped this arrangement would avoid Iran having some of the materials to make a nuclear bomb. But it doesn’t appear to address by products that could be made like Polonium-210. And now one more dot for consideration: The Chechen’s:
Iran is secretly training Chechen rebels to enable them to carry out more effective attacks against Russian forces.
Teams of Chechen fighters are being trained at the Revolutionary Guards’ Imam Ali training camp, located close to Tajrish Square in Tehran, the Sunday Telegraph cited Western intelligence reports.
In addition to receiving training in the latest terror techniques, the Chechen volunteers undergo ideological and political instruction by hardline Iranian mullahs at Qom.
The paper noted that this information would not “go down well in Moscow, which regards itself as a close ally of the Iranian regime.â€
This angle deserves a lot more analysis and may explain why the UK’s AWE initially determined that it was a Russian reactor that created the Polonium-210. Maybe it was just a Russian designed reactor located someplace else.
Even though this is a “lame duck” Congress, until the end of December, 2006; Gates is up on the HILL. In front of the “committee” being questioned for Rumsfeld’s DoD job.
He’s testified “we’re losing in Iraq.” He’s also said there will be a “new” gulf program. Iran can have her nukes. And, the USA will not “protect” Israel. The entire region won’t be America’s problem “anymore.”
Remember this. The current senators give the GOP a majority. Which means you CANNOT blame the democrats!
And, it also puts a lie to the John Bolton claim “that the next Congress won’t confirm him. Why? Because they’re confirming Gates now! And, the only reason Bolton wasn’t confirmed, is that Voinovich, a GOP committee member, WHO NEVER SHOWED FOR MEETINGS, said he didn’t think Bolton was “diplomatic” enough.
What crazy Washingtonion games are being played right now.
All spin. Little truth. And, a very strange thing, indeed. How so? Well you tell me. How did the Saudis KNOW they wouldn’t pay for 9/11? But they’d stay in the driver’s seat, instead?
Bush #43 gets away with this? The biggest heist in history! (While his father’s ass still wears the boot print it received from the American people!)
Ya know? In Bob Woodward’s book. He begins with a scene. Set in 1997. Where the unqualified Bush, meets Prince Bandar. To get “approval” for his run. And, Bandar is quoted as saying “what was motivating Dubya was resentment against Bill Clinton! Imagine that! A draft dodger was elected president! And, Dubya was hell-bent for revenge.
Gee. Those Saudis really know their way around American “power politics.”
Ok, I can see how this could be linked, but I keep coming back to the “age” of the polonium found in Litvinenko. And so far, the lack of reports indicating lead present in any of the exposed. That, coupled with the airline contamination indicate to me this did not come from Iran. It came from Russia. It was fairly fresh in age, if indeed no lead is present. Again, we are speculating on published “facts” and I find it hard to believe that MI5 and 6 are laying all their cards on the table. But their actions IMO indicate a direct link to Russia. If that is not so, then they are projecting by their actions a “obvious” scenario -when in fact they are in pursuit of the real story which leads away from Russia.
I just can’t buy that for some reason.
I am going to speculate something out of turn here. Why not, right? But there were, were there not, Iranian officials present at NK’s nuke test? Obviously, before we start down that road, the plausibility of an Iranian source for polonium needs to be discussed a bit more. Regardless, if we go down the Iran path, I don’t think we can ignore their presence in NK at the time they set off their nuke.
“Maybe it was just a Russian designed reactor located someplace else.”
Very well could be. In order to “fingerprint” something, you need to have a fingerprint on file in order to match it with something. In other words, you need some reference with which you compare.
If it was Russian polonium and “fingerprinted” as such, then it means it would have had to come from a Russian plant that had produced it before. Or … maybe it was simply made from Russian bismuth at a Russian designed plant which would give a very similar “fingerprint”.
Note this:
http://www.basicint.org/pubs/Notes/BN040305.htm
Gee, why would anyone in Iran be irradiating bismuth? What if Iran is building not a nuclear explosive bomb, but a nuclear poison bomb. A “bomb” that could be released into a country possibly several times without anyone noticing until people start getting sick and then it is too late to defend against it.
This is why Iran and other countries must not ever be allowed to have a nuclear program outside of world oversight. The potential exists for the development of poisons such as this one that are nearly undetectable. Iran could produce as much of it as it wants and a gram is enough to kill a million people if the right mode of delivery is used.
Enlightened
Why is it that you think Iran only has “old” polonium.
“were there not, Iranian officials present at NK’s nuke test?”
No idea but I would assume that it would be a joint Iranian/NK effort. Look for Venezuela to join the party soon, too.
CP, that is exactly what I have been thinking. In fact, one think that I have always thought strange about this story is that when it came out that he was poisoned by polonium he even described it as a “tiny nuke.” at the time I thought it was a strange way to describe it.
think = thing
“That, coupled with the airline contamination indicate to me this did not come from Iran. It came from Russia.”
I agree with WoG, it might take a day or two longer to get the polonium to London via Iraq, but so what, that difference wouldn’t be detectible.
The reason why there is no mention of lead is because the lead is probably undetectible. Ingest 100 micrograms of polonium and your pee will be so “hot” from alpha radiation that it shows up. Ingest 100 micrgrams of lead and you would probably never find it in urine because it is masked by normal background lead content.
Ok, putting on my CSI hat, and you can call me stupid here (I can take it) but – is polonium produced in Iran identical in every way to polonium produced in Russia? Getting back to the “fingerprint”? Even IF the RU reactor is now located in Iran, wouldn’t some components differ – including the uranium ore – thereby narrowing down the production site? And again – if this PO was produced in Iran, would there not be SOME kind of trace elements leading back to that location?
Enlightened
“would there not be SOME kind of trace elements leading back to that location?”
yes…sand.
Did I say Iran makes “old” PO? I said there is no trail to Iran from THIS PO.
Polonium is not produced from uranium ore. It is made from irradiating bismuth. You bombard bismuth with neutrons. A neutron is a neutron is a neutron. There is no difference from a Russian neutron, a Chinese neutron, or an American neutron. You can’t really tell what reactor is was made at.
What you do is look at the impurities and can tell, maybe, where the original bismuth came from but you still can’t tell where it was actually bombarded with neutrons. It could have been a reactor, it could have been a particle accelerator.
(moron)
“You can’t really tell what reactor is was made at.”
(/moron)
Translation:
You can’t really tell at which reactor it was made
OK, wasn’t it reported that Putin sold them the centrifuge’s? I could swear I saw something like this reported.
I was refering to this statement:
“That, coupled with the airline contamination indicate to me this did not come from Iran. It came from Russia. It was fairly fresh in age, if indeed no lead is present.”
If, I misunderstood, I apologize.
If the stuff was headed IN to Russia to Chechens, there could be contamination on the planes. The Russian polonium fairy seems to be so highly contaminated that he is dusting things coming and going so you can’t tell from his contamination patters which way the stuff is going.
Two best scenarios so far are smuggling with intent to document for blackmail, and smuggling to Chechens or possible diversion of some material to local London groups.
In both scenarios exposure is accidental due to stupidiy and a lack of respect for the material they were dealing with.
Or maybe it came from Bezerkistan via the Old Silk Road.
This discussion is full of more unsubstantiated speculation than I’ve seen in ages..Sounds like DU or something.
I refer you back to the article at AT regarding LEAD in the PO – If there is NO LEAD in the PO found in any of the victims, the PO is considered “fresh’, almost right off the reactor – To me, that means, reactor, collection, transport(ie airplane traces)exposure (ie all exposed venues and victims). So far I have not seen any reports indicating a level of Lead in the PO, which would mean it is older than a few days, and could have been produced in say – Iran, collected, transported (by secret means so far since no trace back to Iran at this time) exposed.
“more unsubstantiated speculation than I’ve seen in ages”
I agree. The notion that Putin would contaminate half of London and kill citizens of two foreign countries and probably some of his own as well is a bit “out there”.