Initiator for atomic bombs
Posted on 06/18/2006 7:08:27 PM PDT by 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).
"Hidden Enrichment Technology
Since Operation Iraqi Freedom, two scientists from Iraq’s pre-1991 nuclear weapons program have emerged to provide ISG with uranium enrichment technology and components, which they kept hidden from inspectors. In August 2003, a former EMIS scientist told ISG during an interview that he had taken material and equipment that was related to EMIS and hid them in various places near his home in the 1990s. The scientist had not been specifically told to do this but believed his supervisors were cognizant of his actions. He chose items to hide that could be used in future reconstitution of the EMIS program. The scientist turned over to the Coalition a broad range of items that had been withheld from the UN inspectors, including technical reports on EMIS, a collection of foreign EMIS-related patents, a mass spectrometer, blocks of high-purity graphite, high-purity tantalum shielding sheets, and an indigenously designed collector piece from inside the EMIS machine.Some of these items are shown in Figure 34."
Neutron generators are a part of a nuke weapon. They greatly increase the yield.
I did not know this, thank you for the information.
It greatly increases the yield of a nuclear weapon.
And this is ALL that it is used for.
As well they shouldn't. "Jveritas" is correct that the more important tidbit in the article is the "tantalum coated graphite". Tantalum is a very difficult material to work with, yet highly corrosion resistant. Graphite, OTOH is relatively cheap, abundant, and easy to work with. Coating graphite with tantalum potentially offers a short-cut route to piping for handling corrosive gas.
The "neutron generator" is simply an isotopic neutron source that uses the high-energy alpha particles emitted by many isotopes (including naturally occuring ones) to slam into a beryllium "target". When such a high-energy collision occurs, you get (as I recall) the formation of Lithium nuclei, and the emission of a free neutron, which can then be used for many experimental purposes. Commerical sources of this type typically use either Americium or Plutonium (note--NOT the fissionable plutonium isotope), as they put out a higher alpha particle flux.
Does anyone know of any Iraqi scientists going to Iran after the invasion? Could they be now helping in Iran's nuclear developments?
You're going to want to see this Peach..
jveritas- the work you're doing is fantastic. Many, many thanks.
More great work....
The evidence continues to pile up and the Leftists continue to try to ignore it all!
On the Chemical Weapons issue, I think from my reading so far that the Iraqi had all the material available to produce them in a very short period of time. They had all the precursors necessary to build Sarin, Tabun, Hydrogen Cyanide, and even VX gas. I think that most of these precursors were buried in the Western desert and they are still there.
Thanks SE Mom :)
I think most of them stayed in Iraq or left for the West. Some even fled to the west when Saddam still in power. The Iranians have their own nuclear scientists, with some help from the Russians renegade nuclear scientists, North Koreans, and Pakistanis.
I do not know. It seems that you know more about this subject than I do. What do you think about the Graphite Coated with Tantalum?
Good night :)
Excellent work -- still.
How do you distribute your translations? Is there a web site? I've seen Powerline and other blogs linking to your posts here.
Keep up the good work -- Randy
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