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SGS denies responsibility for missing radioactive material in Iraq

Thursday, 18 February 2016 6:50 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 18 February 2016 6:52 PM ]

A sign indicating radioactive material is shown in Anaheim, California, March 17, 2011. (Reuters photo)

Swiss inspection group SGS has denied responsibility for security at a US company site in southern Iraq where highly dangerous radioactive material went missing last year.

SGS said in a statement on Thursday that US oilfield services firm Weatherford, which owns the site, is in charge of its security and that the inspection group does not control accesses to the site in question.

"The site where these operations are conducted is fully secured and guarded by security guards under the responsibility of the owner of the site. SGS does not assume any responsibility for the site security and does not control accesses," the statement read.

"When not in use, the equipment and radioactive source are stored in a secured bunker designed for that effect and provided by Weatherford. The disappearance of the equipment occurred while the equipment was stored in the Weatherford bunker," it added.

The material, used to test oil pipes, went missing from a storage facility, near the southern Iraqi city of Basra. It reportedly contained up to ten grams of Iridium-192 capsules.

SGS stated that its Turkish unit, hired by Weatherford to perform the tests, immediately notified Iraqi authorities as soon as the disappearance was discovered in November last year.

Iraqi authorities have said that they are searching for the missing radioactive material.

A senior Basra security official said the material was part of a device used to test welded portions of pipes for leaks or other weaknesses.

The radioactive material is highly dangerous and is feared to be used by Takfiri Daesh terrorists in a dirty bomb.

Iraqi soldiers patrol a suburb close to the area of Jweibah, east of the city of Ramadi, Feb. 4, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Daesh and other Takfiri terrorist groups frequently use chemical warfare agents (CWAs) in Syria and Iraq, where they have swathes of land under control.

Violence has plagued the northern and western parts of Iraq ever since Daesh Takfiris launched an offensive in June 2014, and took control of portions of Iraqi territory.

The Iraqi army and fighters from Popular Mobilization Units are engaged in joint military operations to win back militant-held regions.

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