Dirty Bomb Fears After Uranium Found In Cargo Arriving At Heathrow

Fears have been sparked that a dirty bomb was sent to the UK after a shipment containing a small amount of uranium was found at Heathrow late last year.

The cargo was found on a flight from Oman on December 29, and reportedly originated in Pakistan. It was destined for an Iranian business with premises in the UK.

Uranium is a naturally occurring material but is harmful to humans. Anti-terror officials are concerned that it may have been intended for use in a dirty bomb, which is when radioactive material like uranium is combined with explosives like dynamite.

Dirty Bomb Fears After Uranium Found In Cargo Arriving At Heathrow



This kind of thing is rather concerning considering the damage to life it could cause if detonated in one of our cities.

The story is just breaking, so i will add more information as it becomes available.

Apparently, the contaminated package originated from Pakistan, and arrived on a flight via Oman, which was then detected via scanners as it was being transported to a freight shed.

www.dailymail.co.uk...

a reply to: andy06shake

Iranian owned businesses can freely operate in the UK?

Or a Brit from Iran?

a reply to: JinMI

I don't have a clue JinMI.

Came across this which may be of assistance.

The UK government supports expanding our trade relationship with Iran and we encourage UK businesses to take advantage of the commercial opportunities arising from the lifting of sanctions.

www.gov.uk...

a reply to: andy06shake

Irans official stance is death to the west IIRC. Thus my question.

A naturalized Brit who is of Iranian heritage could be vastly different from an Iranian business being located in the UK.

Regardless, they found it...almost coincidentally it seems.

a reply to: andy06shake

Wow...scary!

I was going to ask if there was any other reason for there to uranium like that about...but then I realized it was a dumb question...of course there isn't!

But I do wonder why they are using that method to transport it...almost begging to be found! Surely anyone that deals with uranium would have a better means to transport it from one place to another!

This makes no sense!

Didnt al-Qadea intercept a uranium shipment from Iran at the end of last year( last month)
Pretty sure they did.

www.newsweek.com...

m.jpost.com...


a reply to: andy06shake

a reply to: andy06shake

Well, the first thing is that photo is from the Ghetty collection so we don't know what form it actually is in. Could be a soil sample, could be a tile glaze, could be a plate. They all can contain uranium ore.

Now as far as danger goes, the panic is more dangerous should it be used as a weapon than the actual radiological danger. It is scarier than it is dangerous.

It would only affect a few blocks if used in a dirty bomb and could be cleaned up. Messy but cleanable.

Now, spreading it as dust by just sprinkling it from, let's say, a moving vehicle, would spread the problem wider and make it harder to clean up. But that method does not have the scarry terror aspect as a small dirty bomb would. It would also take up to tens of years for the poisoning affects to be noticed unless someone happens to be looking around with a giger counter in the area.

We need more information on this. Specifically, what form the uranium was in.

a reply to: beyondknowledge

Well, the first thing is that photo is from the Ghetty collection so we don't know what form it actually is in. Could be a soil sample, could be a tile glaze, could be a plate. They all can contain uranium ore.

I just took the photo from the NEWS article beyondknowledge.

It also says.

The material has been identified as being contaminated with uranium.

This makes one wonder if other uranium, in whatever form, was already removed.

Or i suppose it could mean combined with another material.

Now as far as danger goes, the panic is more dangerous should it be used as a weapon than the actual radiological danger. It is scarier than it is dangerous.

It would only affect a few blocks if used in a dirty bomb and could be cleaned up. Messy but cleanable.

I suppose that would depend on where and when the device was detonated.

Imagine a stadium full of 40,000 people or a city center at rush hour or lunchtime.

Now, spreading it as dust by just sprinkling it from, let's say, a moving vehicle, would spread the problem wider and make it harder to clean up. But that method does not have the scarry terror aspect as a small dirty bomb would. It would also take up to tens of years for the poisoning affects to be noticed unless someone happens to be looking around with a giger counter in the area.

Suppose that a possible scenario and a scary prospect to consider.

We need more information on this. Specifically, what form the uranium was in.

Agreed and hopefully, that information will become available.

originally posted by: JinMI
a reply to: andy06shake

Iranian owned businesses can freely operate in the UK?

Or a Brit from Iran?

In the old days, we would have renditioned someone like this to Egypt and he would sing like a bird.

Could be probing for weaknesses in security or a diversionary tactic


Would they let us know if it was dangerous? I'm not so sure


inews.co.uk...

Uranium seized at Heathrow ‘poses no threat to public’ Scotland Yard says

Counter-terrorism police are investigating after Border Force officers seized material contaminated with uranium at Heathrow.

Scotland Yard said the counter terror command was contacted by Border Force after a “very small amount of contaminated material was identified after routine screening within a package incoming to the UK on December 29, 2022”.

“I want to reassure the public that the amount of contaminated material was extremely small and has been assessed by experts as posing no threat to the public,” Commander Richard Smith said.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: beyondknowledge

I suppose that would depend on where and when the device was detonated.

Imagine a stadium full of 40,000 people or a city center at rush hour or lunchtime.

If it were detonated in such an environment, a maximum of tens killed outright from the explosion, tens more injured by the explosion, possibly a few hundred contaminated, but up to thousands would be killed in the panicked stampede.

It is much more a weapon that scares more than it actually kills outright.

Almost every story about "dirty bombs" is propaganda. You won't find this in the history books, but during the Iraq and Iran conflict Iraq experimented with "dirty bombs". They found that a bomb that had been enriched with nuclear materials didn't disperse nuclear particulate very far outside the blast zone. You would have to been inside the blast zone to get a lethal dose of radiation. Which doesn't matter when you are already dead...

Since the start of the Ukraine conflict it's been dirty bomb this and dirty bomb that with these media outlets. Can't tell if it's the media or the terrorists that are unaware a "dirty bomb" isn't any more dangerous than a typical explosive.

Just more fear based manipulation to keep us afraid of absolutely everything...

Stuff like this makes me think about the coronation and Harry's big mouth.

a reply to: beyondknowledge

Well, that would depend again on things like proximity to the device and the fallout generated by the bomb.

Apparently in takes about 50 milligrams to kill the average human.

Then there is the fact that it causes cancers, like of the bone or liver sorts.

Might not kill people outright but it could cause a rather long and protracted death aka death by radiation poisoning or cancer somewhere down to the line.

It a perfect weapon of terror if you think about it and certainly not the sort of prospect to be sniffed at or ignored.

a reply to: andy06shake

I don't think most terrorists think about waiting for you to get cancer in ten or twenty years. They want you to know it now.

Now if they were to announce it at a sporting event over the PA system moments before detonation, I could see tham using a dirty bomb for the increased reaction it would cause.

a reply to: beyondknowledge

I don't think most terrorists think about waiting for you to get cancer in ten or twenty years. They want you to know it now.

The detonation of a dirty bomb in London would be a massive prize of epic proportions, with a cheery on top, to any would-be terrorist scum beyondknowledge, no two ways about that.

Now if they were to announce it at a sporting event over the PA system moments before detonation, I could see tham using a dirty bomb for the increased reaction it would cause.

Well panic is the name of the game where terrorism is the goal, or so I'm led to believe, probably not far wrong.

originally posted by: JinMI
a reply to: andy06shake

Irans official stance is death to the west IIRC. Thus my question.
...

But isn't it racist to say stuff like that?

Yeah, that's pretty much Iran's official stance. But, hey, open the gates? That bug wooden horse looks pretty neat.

a reply to: JinMI

not all Iranians want to kill Westerners, just the fringe religious minority and those that have to toe the line.

Most of them are fairly nice and open to some western ideas

a reply to: andy06shake

The last paragraph of the LBC article has the Met Police saying...

"Although our investigation remains ongoing, from our inquiries so far, it does not appear to be linked to any direct threat. ".

Could be seeding a black flag event?

We really need more factual information on the type and source of the uranium

The airport itself has had a lot of uranium through it in the form of aircraft weights www.wise-uranium.org...

The BBC radio news, as of 10 am this morning is reporting it as scrap metal that was contaminated with uranium