Plutonium being transported across France could be attacked by terrorists and turned into dirty bombs in a matter of minutes, a US nuclear security expert is warning.Apparently France thinks a dozen guards won't make these shipments the "prime target" that they actually are...
Cargoes of plutonium oxide are taken by road at least once a month from nuclear plants at La Hague in the north to Marcoule in the south to make fuel for French reactors. But according to Ronald Timm, a consultant from Lemont, Illinois, US, and for 5 years a senior nuclear security advisor to the US Clinton administration, the shipments are very poorly guarded.
"The protection afforded these everyday shipments is virtually non-existent," he claims.
Read the rest from New Scientist.
