United Nations, May 20: Concerned that nuclear and radiological materials in Iraq may no longer be under the control of any authority, the UN nuclear watchdog agency has asked the us and its allies to allow its experts to return to address a possible radiological emergency there. "I am deeply concerned by the almost daily reports of looting and destruction at nuclear sites, and about the potential radiological safety and security implications of nuclear and radiological materials that may no longer be under control," Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed Elbaradei said yesterday in his third message on the issue in little over a month.

"We have a moral responsibility to establish the facts without delay and take urgent remedial action," Elbaradei said about reports that containers of radiological material were being emptied on the ground and then taken for domestic use, and of radioactive sources being stolen and removed from their shielding.
Bureau Report