ISTANBUL, Turkey, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Turkish security forces have seized one third of a pound of medium-grade uranium in Istanbul.
The uranium was captured from two men arrested in Istanbul and it amounted to 173 grams or 6.102 ounces. Authorities fear the dangerous substance smuggled from Russia could have landed in the hands of terrorists, Turkey's Anatolia news agency said.
Two people who were planning to sell the substance in a glass bottle for $7 million were detained. The detainees said that they had smuggled the substance from Russia, the news agency and Mos News in Moscow reported.
Sources in the Turkish security forces told Anatolia news agency the substance had the capacity to generate enough electricity to power New York City for a year.
The two men, whose identities were not revealed, were detained by police who acted as would-be buyers of the uranium. A spokesman for the Turkish security services said: "The only place where the uranium could eventually land is in the hands of terrorists," Russia's Itar-Tass news agency said.
Turkish Atomic Energy Agency experts, after examining the substance, said it contained 17 percent of the U-235 isotope, the Turkish and Russian reports said. The remaining 83 percent was mostly the U-238 isotope which does not contribute directly to the fission process.
Uranium found in nature consists largely of two isotopes: U-235 and U-238. The energy production in nuclear reactors is from the "fission" or splitting of the U-235 atoms, a process which releases energy in the form of heat. U-235 is the main fissile isotope of uranium.
Under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) signed also by Turkey, sale, purchase and transportation of any amount of uranium are subject to international restrictions.
