Slovakia Radioactive material seized was Uranium from Russia

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Slovak police said Thursday they have identified as uranium the 2.2 pounds of radioactive material seized from three suspects who allegedly tried to sell it for $1 million.

Police spokesman Martin Korch could not say whether the seized material had been enriched to weapons-grade.

"I can confirm that it was uranium-235 and uranium-238," he told The Associated Press.

Slovak and Hungarian officials were to hold a news conference later Thursday.

Authorities said Wednesday they confiscated the uranium during the arrests of two suspects in eastern Slovakia and a third in Hungary. It remained unclear to whom the suspects were trying to peddle the material.

Uranium is considered enriched if it contains more than 20 percent uranium-235, the fissile form of the element. It is considered weapons-grade if it contains at least 85 percent uranium-235. Natural uranium contains less than 1 percent of the fissile isotope, and uranium-238 is a lower grade form of the element.

The arrests heightened concerns that Eastern Europe could be a source of radioactive material for a so-called "dirty bomb," which would use conventional explosives to scatter radioactive debris.

miamipress.net