A Significant Nuclear Security Event in Gaziemir-Izmir, Türkiye: Open Letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency

In 2006, a large quantity of clandestine sensitive radioactive materials surfaced at an abandoned scrap metal and lead recovery facility in the city Gaziemir, Izmir, Türkiye. In April, 2007 the TAEK (Turkish Atomic Energy Agency) official experts surveyed the 70,000 m² site including the storage buildings. They reported that 20-300 microRad/h of radiation was detected throughout the site, especially high readings of more than 300 micRad/h were recorded inside the storage building containing about 1,100 tons of commercially valuable waste. About 15 tons of waste were taken from the storage building and sent to TAEK’s lab in Ankara to be analyzed. In April, 2008 TAEK issued a press release (No: 04/2012) on its official website confirming that their analysis of samples taken from the Aslan facility showed that, there is a scattered radioactive contamination in the Aslan lead-recovering factory. The radioactive isotopes of Europium-152 and Europium-154 were found in the landfilled area, additionally, these isotopes were more concentrated (higher readings) in the commercially valuable waste (approx. 1,100 tons) which was kept in the storage building, a clear indication of the fact that at the Aslan facility, sensitive nuclear reactor parts, including but not limited to nuclear reactors control rods were being melted.