Radioactive material feared to have fallen into the hands of the ISIS terrorist group has been retrieved in Iraq authorities said on Sunday.
The material, which was was stolen from an oilfield service company, was about the size of a laptop and contained enough radioactive material to be deadly at close range.
The material was contained in a radiography device, a tool that reportedly uses Iridium-192, a radioactive element that is commonly used in medicine to treat certain types of cancer. In this case, it was being used for industrial purposes to inspect welding seams on oil pipelines.
There were fears that the material could have ended up in the hands of ISIS terrorists, who now control parts of Northern Iraq. The material could have been used to contaminate a water supply or be used in a dirty bomb, radioactive specialist Kevin Kamps told CNN.
According to Kamps the Ir-192 emits enough gamma rays to be fatal at close range.
Officials told Reuters that the missing radioactive material was found near a petrol station in the town of Zubair. According to the sources cited, the material was retrieved undamaged.
“After initial checking I can confirm the device is intact 100 percent and there is absolutely no concern of radiation,” Jabbar al-Saidi, an Iraqi security official told Reuters.
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