Iridium Theft in Iraq is No Isolated Incident

Iraqi authorities are desperately searching for a highly dangerous radiological compound that went missing from a storage facility owned by a U.S. company.

The facility in Basra was built by Weatherford International an oilfield services company, which specializes in reducing customer costs and risk. The Swiss-based SGS is the world’s largest inspection, testing, and Verification Company was reportedly the owner and operator of the facility. Neither company has taken responsibility for the substance disappearance.

The missing compound was identified as Ir-192, a radioactive isotope of iridium.  The isotope was in a protective case about the size of a laptop, and was reported missing last November. Large quantities of Ir-192 had previously gone missing all over the United States, Britain, and other countries as well.

Ir-192 is classified as a category 2 radioactive by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which means it can be fatal in closed proximity within days or even a few hours. The potential danger of Ir-192 to body and environment depends on a number of factors including the material’s strength and age.

The missing material is used to test flaws in pipelines in a process called industrial Gamma radiography, radiation is used in industrial radiography to show problems not visible from the outside without damaging material.

An Iraqi security official said the initial investigation indicated that perpetrators had knowledge of the facility and handling the material. There were no broken locks, smashed doors, or signs of forced entry.

The Iraqi government has been open about its concern that the material may end up in the hands of the Islamic State (IS) for use in building a dirty bomb. Islamic State’s interest in acquiring materials for use in weapons of mass destruction is well documented. Belgian security officials have expressed similar concerns following evidence that IS operatives in Europe were conducting surveillance of a Belgian nuclear official. While not on the radiological front, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper recently confirmed that the IS has had the capability to manufacture chemical weapons and successfully deployed them in Iraq against Kurdish forces.

That said however, Islamic State has limited influence in southern Iraq. Basra was spared from being overtaken by the IS in the summer of 2014, but has suffered from an increasingly unstable situation, the result of the influence of powerful Shiite militias and criminal gangs. Local officials blame the lack of police and security forces for a rise in kidnappings, armed robberies, thefts, tribal disputes, and drug trafficking.

It cannot be discounted that a criminal gang stole the compound for simple profit. There has been increasing evidence of a substantial black market for radioactive materials in recent years. If so any number of potential bad actors, including Islamic State, Al Qaeda or other terror groups, or other transnational criminal organization could be the end recipient.