CAIRO: Egyptian state-owned newspapers reported on Friday that experts are currently investigating reports that radioactive material had been stolen from a nuclear site where the country plans to erect its first nuclear power plant. The reports came less than 24 hours after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement on Thursday that “the items that have gone missing are low-level radioactive sources. “The sources were stolen not from an operating NPP (nuclear power plant), but from a laboratory at a construction site for an NPP that is not yet operational,” the statement added. The UN nuclear watchdog said it is “in touch with the Egyptian authorities.” A safe containing radioactive material was stolen from the Dabaa nuclear power plant, and another was broken into, with part of its contents stolen. The Egyptian government has deployed special teams to track down the stolen materials, according to an Al-Ahram newspaper report. The Dabaa plant was the site of mass protests last week, as about 500 Egyptians set out to demand the relocation of the controversial nuclear plant, which is still under construction. Military police worked to disperse the protesters, as they exchanged gunfire and hurled stones at one another, devolving quickly into violence. Some protesters angry over the construction of the site have claimed that they lost their land due to the plant's construction. Plant staff has stayed away from the site because of the unstable security situation in the area, as controversy continues. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/ZluZG Tags: featured, IAEA, Nuclear, radioactive material Section: Egypt, Latest News
