Expert Warns Gaddafi May Be Preparing 'Dirty Bomb'

A TV grab taken from Al Arabiya channel shows smoke rising in the sky from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi`s fortified Bab al-Aziziya compound, in Tripoli, Libya, 23 August 2011. EPA/BGNES

Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi may have access to uranium and other material that may be used for the creation of a "dirty bomb", an expert has said.

A research center located at Tajoura near Tripoli continues to store large quantities of radioisotopes, radioactive waste and low-enriched uranium fuel after three decades of nuclear research and radioisotope production, Olli Heiononen, the head of nuclear safeguards inspections worldwide for the International Atomic Energy Agency, has stated in an online commentary.

"While we can be thankful that the highly enriched uranium stocks are no longer in Libya, the remaining material in Tajoura could, if it ended up in the wrong hands, be used as ingredients for dirty bombs. The situation at Tajoura today is unclear," Heiononen has commented, according to The Telegraph.

"Dirty bombs" are made by combining conventional conventional explosives with radioactive material. They are designed to disperse radioactive material over a large area. However, experts say this kind of weapon does not have the potential to cause large-scale harm to life and property.

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