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Outside Publications by CNS StaffURANIUM SMUGGLING CASE IN CHINA RAISES CONCERNCopyright © WMD Insights. All rights reserved. October 2007 Issue By Stephanie Lieggi
Tale of the Would-Be Smugglers Some media outlets referred to Zhou as the owner of an illegal mining operation, while others described him as an official in a military-controlled mine. Sources also differed on Zhou's current fate; official state-run media have stated that Zhou will be "tried separately" while independent Hong Kong sources have claimed that he is still at large. [4] A number of reports from the Hong Kong press indicated that at least five other men were implicated in the case -- Zhang Gusheng, Wang Wei, Zhang Ronghui, Zhang Xinfang, and Yue Mingshing -- although these men were not mentioned in Chinese state-run press reporting on the incident. [5] A report in Ming Pao, a leading Hong Kong newspaper, indicated that one unnamed suspect worked at the "712 Uranium Mine" in Hunan. [6] This mine is a large state-run operation, opened in the early 1960s. [7] Zhang recruited Yang Guoliang to assist him with finding a buyer for the product. Zhang and Yang were apparently able to further refine the uranium to 56.7 percent by using a household sieve. [8] (Normally purification involves processing uranium in chemical solutions, so it is not clear how the alleged perpetrators achieved this result.) [9] The two other men now on trial, Li Zi'an and Li Huibin, were then brought into the deal and worked with Zhang and Yang to sell the material. Li Zi'an made contact with Peng Shangjin, a businessman from Hong Kong, who proposed to act as a middleman for a buyer in Hong Kong. Peng told the accused that they could receive up to RMB 1.6 million ($210,000) per kilogram. The spot price for yellowcake sold on the world market in September 2007 was about $85 per pound ($187.00 per kilogram). [10] While prices on the black market could potentially be higher than the regular market rates if the materials were destined for known proliferators or non-state actors who would not be able to purchase materials on the open market, the price difference in this case would more likely point to a lack of understanding of those involved with regard to the worth of the items in their possession. After initial contact with Peng, Li Zi'an and Li Huibin traveled about 600 kilometers by bus from Chenzhou in Hunan Province to the southern city of Guangzhou in Guangdong province. They carried with them a number of samples of the uranium inside simple containers, which they kept either on their persons or in their luggage. A number of reports describe how the would-be smugglers wrapped the uranium in plastic bags and carbon paper. [11] Instead of proceeding with the deal, Peng decided to go to the Hong Kong police who then reported the affair to the mainland Chinese authorities. The authorities set up a sting operation in which Li Zi'an and Li Huibin were lured to Guangzhou's Yuancun Guesthouse on January 4, 2007, and then arrested as they attempted to complete the sale of the uranium to Peng. On January 10, 2007, accomplices Zhang and Yang were arrested, as they attempted to sell some of the uranium in Hunan at the Lianhua Hotel in Ningyuan Prefecture. [12] Police have reportedly recovered only about 35 grams of the eight kilogram total. A report from a Hong Kong newspaper quoted an unidentified court official as saying that the police had arrested another two individuals reportedly involved with running the illegal mine but both were released on bail for medical reasons, apparently due to radiation-related illnesses. Chinese authorities in both Hunan and Guangdong provinces are reportedly still searching for others involved in the case who remain at large. [13] One puzzling aspect of the story is that the official media and certain medical professionals have suggested that the yellowcake poses a public health risk. In fact, the material is only slightly radioactive, suggesting that this aspect of the incident has been significantly exaggerated. Reporters present during the court proceedings -- which took place in the Tianhe District Court in Guangzhou -- described the four accused as suffering from various illnesses due to their exposure to the uranium. [14] An unverified report from the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy claimed that over 20 people were sickened by the uranium. [15] Beijing's official media outlets have highlighted the potential risk to public safety posed by the missing material, noting that authorities are concerned it could threaten the health of individuals who come into contact with it. [16] According to a Guangzhou hospital administrator quoted by the China Daily, the fear is not that the uranium will "explode" in its current "raw state", but that people in close contact with the uranium for a long period of time will run the risk of contracting illnesses, including leukemia and other cancers. (Note: Miners working for a number of years in poorly ventilated underground uranium mines have experienced radiation-related illness. If the accused were, in fact, uranium miners, this could account for any radiation-related illnesses from which they might be suffering. It appears, however, that exposure to small amounts of yellowcake would not have a similar impact.) [17] The state-run media have stressed that the authorities are working to locate the missing materials. [18] The Security of China's Nuclear
Materials
Australian correspondent John Garnaut, writing for two of Australia's national newspapers, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, claimed that the recent uranium smuggling story showed that "China has a nuclear safeguards problem." [22] According to Garnaut, in May 2005, China's Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND) sent out a warning to authorities in China's southern provinces about unauthorized uranium mining. COSTIND sent another warning about the illegal uranium trade in July 2006, specifically targeting Hunan province, which contains a significant proportion of China's uranium deposits. [23] China's nuclear industry has traditionally located yellowcake production facilities close to large mining operations. [24] Garnaut concluded that China "is home to a raging underground uranium production system" and that those arrested in the Hunan case represent only a small fraction of those involved in this trade. [25] Considering China's recent campaigns to crackdown on smuggling and its relatively strong control of its nuclear industry, the extent to which Garnaut and others have portrayed this case as a sign of an intrinsic problem in China's overall system may be overstated. Although Beijing continues to have problems with the implementation and enforcement of laws at the local level, the Chinese government's relative success in its decade-long anti-smuggling campaign -- which has focused mainly on consumer goods and narcotics -- bodes well for its ability to stop illicit trafficking of raw nuclear materials out of the country. China has increased its cooperation with Western countries in the area of nuclear material protection and has worked with the United States to install radiation detectors in Chinese ports. [26] In the last decade, China has further strengthened its nuclear-related export controls, and, in 2004, it became a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Punishment for smuggling-related crimes in China can be severe. According to China's criminal code, "whoever illegally trades in or transports nuclear materials" can be "sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than ten years." However, "if the circumstances are serious, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years, life imprisonment or death." [27] While the term "serious" is not identified in the criminal code, the executions of individuals in China for smuggling-related offenses are well documented. [28] Conclusion
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On August 23, 2007, Chinese state-run media reported that four
men from China's Hunan province -- Zhang Sangang, Yang Guoliang, Li Zi'an
and Li Huibin -- were standing trial for attempting to illegally sell eight
kilograms of refined uranium. [1] Based on the descriptions in various
reports, the material appears to be poorly purified uranium oxide, or
"yellowcake," a slightly radioactive substance, which must undergo
numerous, complex processing steps before it can be used as fuel for
nuclear reactors or nuclear weapons. The accused -- all either farmers or
mine workers -- appeared to be part of a loosely organized gang nominally
led by the head of an illegal mining operation. Reports from other media
sources have suggested that others have also been arrested, although
stories conflict as to how many other suspects are in custody and how they
were connected to the scheme to sell the uranium. [2] Official reports
from government news agencies admit that almost all of the uranium remains
missing. The loss of the materials and the ability of unauthorized
individuals to gain access to them have raised concerns about Beijing's
ability to control dangerous goods within its borders, despite China's
generally strong record of suppressing illegal smuggling in some other
areas. (Reports of raw uranium smuggling have
also plagued India. See "
While those suspected of involvement in this case appear to be
a hapless band of amateurs and not a well-organized gang of nuclear
smugglers, the case has raised some concerns outside of China about the
ability of Beijing to control access to nuclear and radiological
materials. In particular, this story renewed concern in Australia about
nuclear cooperation with China. [20] In January 2007, Canberra and Beijing
signed a deal that allowed Australian companies to sell yellowcake to
China. Under the agreement, all exports from Australia would be placed
under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards and could only
be used for peaceful purposes. However, critics of the deal argued that
the safeguard regime was not sufficient to assure that Australian uranium
is not misused. [21]
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