Uranium detected at London airport: United Kingdom Border Police seize cargo contaminated with uranium at Heathrow Airport in London. According to Sky News, which first reported the incident, the chemical was detected during routine checks at the airport on 29 December and said the shipment had originated in Pakistan.
According to the US Environmental Agency, uranium is weakly radioactive and contributes to low levels of natural background radiation in the environment. Uranium is used in nuclear power generation. Specifically, U-235 can be concentrated in a process called “enrichment”, which makes it “fissionable” and suitable for use in nuclear reactors or weapons.
no arrests yet
Meanwhile, British counter-terrorist police are investigating after border officials seized cargo contaminated with uranium at London’s Heathrow airport.
The Metropolitan Police force said on Wednesday that “a very small amount of contaminated material was identified following routine checks within packages arriving in the UK”.
It said the counter-terrorism command of the force is investigating. No arrests have been made.
The BBC reported that the uranium was in a shipment of scrap metal. The Sun reported that the shipment originated in Pakistan and arrived on a flight from Oman.
Police Commander Richard Smith said the amount of contaminated material was “extremely small and has been assessed by experts to pose no threat to the public.”
He said it “does not appear to be linked to any direct threat,” but the investigation is ongoing. “Of course, we will follow every lead to see what the background was and satisfy ourselves that there is no further danger,” he added. A spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declined to comment on the ongoing police operation.
(with inputs from AP)
ALSO READ: Flight departures resume across the United States after massive FAA system outage