Iraqi Document: Highly Radioactive Atomic Neutron Device (Translation)

Pentagon/FMSO website for Iraq Pre-war documents ^ | June 18 2006 | jveritas

[jveritas]

Document CMPC-2003-000537 is a secret and personal memo written in November 1999 by the director of the Iraqi National Monitoring Department (NMD) and addressed to the Minister of the Iraqi Military Industrialization Commission (MIC). The memo talks about a Neutron Source Device with High Radioactive Activity that was found in one Iraqi University and the NMD is asking that it should be returned to the Iraqi Atomic Energy Organization. The Neutron Source Device can be also called Neutron Generator or Neutron Initiator. This Neutron Generator device was not declared to the UN inspectors all the time they were in Iraq from 1991 to late 1998 when they were kicked out of Iraq. In fact Neutron generators were prohibited to be used by the Iraqis according to this UN document ( http://www.un.org/Depts/unmovic/documents/S-2002-515.pdf page 133 of this UN document pdf, an * next to an item means it is porhibited).

Beginning of the Translation of page 1 and 2 of document CMPC-2003-000537

In the Name of God the Most Compassionate The Most Merciful

The Republic of Iraq

The Presidency of the Republic

The Military Industrialization Commission

The National Monitoring Department

Number 12/M/3/94

Date 18/11/1999

Secret and Personal

The Respected Minister of Military Industrialization

Subject: Neutron Source

The University of Al Mustansirya/Science Faculty informed us in its letter No. 2369 on 24/10/1999 of the existence of a Neutron Source (Am-Be) in one of its laboratories and was previously brought by Dr. Midhat Al Zubaidi one of the ex-researchers (currently retired) of Firnas Center and we did the following:

1. Send a team from the department to investigate this Source where it was revealed it a Source (P-Be) with a high radiation activity (Aciory) brought in the year 1996.

2. A meeting was held in our department on Sunday 14/11/1999 with all the people concerned from the Atomic Energy Agency and the Firnas company and the Science Faculty/Al Mustansirya University and the following was revealed:

A. The Atomic Energy Organization clarified that this Source was not documented in their archives because it was previously shrouded by secrecy and it was delivered to Dr. Midhat Al Zubaidi at the end of year 1989.

B. Dr. Midhat clarified that he received the Source from the Organization in 1993 during the period where the equipment from the previous program were returned to the Al Tuwaitha site and he transferred to the Engineering Faculty/Baghdad University and then it was returned to its current location in Al Mustansirya University in the year 1996.

3. Dr. Khaled Ibrahim Said clarified that it is possible that this Source can be used by the Fourth Group where Dr. Midhat Al Zubaidi was one of its members in the year 1989 and for the purpose of doing some experimentations.

4. Information about this Source was previously requested by the Agency because it was imported to the Iraqi Atomic Energy Organization under the name of Al Basra University. And the Organization sent a team to Al Basra University to investigate or try to find it without any results.

In light of these infractions we suggest the return of the Source to the Iraqi Atomic Energy Organization and including and declaring it among the Radioactive Sources that it possesses.

With regards… Sir

General Engineer

Hussam Ahmad Amin

18/11/1999

End of the Translation.

I also found in my reading of document ISGQ-2003-00000813.pdf which is a 2002 document that the Iraqi were working to produce TANTALUM COATED GRAPHITE as part of research activities for the year 2002. This very special coating of Graphite with Tantalum to create a highly corrosion resistant surface for graphite. The document by itself does not say what is the use for this but for sure one of the few applications is that this Tantalum coated graphite can be used with the highly corrosive UF6 or Uranium Hexafluoride which is the basic component for ENRICHED URANIUM. In fact A Tantalum coated Graphite was totally prohibited for use in Iraq since it falls under the prohibited nuclear activities per this UN document ( http://www.un.org/Depts/unmovic/documents/S-2002-515.pdf pages 84 and 133 of this UN document pdf, an * next to an item means it is prohibited).

[jveritas]

Ping.

[AmericaUnited]

Bada Bing! Bada Boom!

[Jewels1091]

And the national media does what????looks the other way, they couldn't be less interested in this.

[Eagles6]

Good one, jveritas.Of course if there is any other possible use for these items, then that was their purpose, according to the dems.

[jveritas]

The Graphite Coated with Tantalum is what I think needs to be look at even more so than the Neutron Generator.

[Marine_Uncle]

Great translation jv. Yet again you provide us with a document that should be viewed with great suspicion. Clearly they where fiddling around with nuclear physics beyond what was permitted within the oil for food program agreements.
We know they had some 1.7 tons of highly enriched uranium at mentioned nuclear power facility.
Whether it approached weapon grade uranium, I have never seen proof positive to that fact. But anything greater then some 6% is beyond what is required to put in the fuel rods for simply electrical power generation.
At any rate, thanks for your continued services on the English translation repository at FR.

[jveritas]

They will not be interested because these fact contradicts all the lies they have been spewing for the last 3 years against the Iraq war and President Bush.

[Marine_Uncle]

ping

[BenLurkin]

What are these things?

[jveritas]

Thanks MU. As I told freeper Eagles6 the Tantalum Coated Graphite is an important thing that must be investigated.

[Lurker]

Thanks jveritas. You're doing some great work.

Personal index bump.

L

[lesser_satan]

bump

[jveritas]

Tantalum is one of the most expensive and rarest metals on the planet and it is highly resistant to corrosion. Tantalum or Graphite coated Tantalum are one of the few materials that can resist the highly corrosive Uranium Hexofluoride (UF6) which is the main ingredient for enriched Uranium.

[jazusamo]

More good work jveritas, thanks for your hard work again.

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[BenLurkin]

Okay, and I guess a "neutron generator" is something that generates neutrons so they can be used for something to do with nuclear fission.

I will adjourn to Google to research for a moment (but I may return with more dumb questions).

[Marine_Uncle]

I think you are right. Obviously you are thinking about them experimenting with special treated materials that eventually could be used in parts to make gas centrifuges, interior piping, baffles, special valve assemblies. All the things that go into building cascade/serial gas centrifuges to create highly enriched uranium from HF₆ gas.
As far as the neutron generators. Yea. Could simply been a small unit that contains any number of different isotopes that can be used to create either alpha, beta, gamma radiation for many applications which of course can include commercial uses such as irridating say seed stock, kill bacteria, a plethora of could be peacefull intended uses, including nuclear medical research, but at the same time could be used in things they where not to be fiddling around with.

[God luvs America]

the media won't give it two seconds...

[BenLurkin]

This seems pretty serious. Why is the tantalum more of a concern?

"A mechanism based on implosion provided the solution to this problem. In this design, the fissile material is shaped into a single sphere with a mass slightly less than critical. Layers of carefully shaped high explosives surround the sphere. When the explosives are detonated, the force of the shock wave compresses the fissile material into a smaller volume, forming a supercritical mass. This method of assembly is much faster than the gun-type mechanism and thus eliminates the problems resulting from spontaneous neutron emission of Pu-240. The spherical mass resulted in a pumpkin-shaped weapon called "Fat Man".

"To assure that a chain reaction occurs, an initiator is placed at the center of the sphere of fissile materials. It consists of a source of alpha particles, radioactive polonium, surrounded with thin aluminum foil. The foil-wrapped source is then surrounded with beryllium powder. When the initial explosion squeezes the fissile material into a supercritical mass, the foil breaks, allowing the alpha particles to reach the beryllium and produce the initial neutrons."

Source: http://www.chemcases.com/nuclear/nc-09.htm

[Theo]

Great research, my friend.