Zmeinogorsk, Russia
A Russian atomic scientist this week turned in 400 grams of weapons-grade plutonium that he had been storing in his garage for the past eight years. Leonid Grigorov had read about the Russian government’s new buyback program for radioactive materials, and expected to get $8.25 per milligram, for a total of $3,300,000. Instead, he was arrested for illegal storage of nuclear substances. Grigorov said that when the enrichment plant where he worked was closed in 1992, he asked authorities to dispose of the radioactive material but received no reply. So he put the plutonium in a lead container and stuck it in the garage. “As an expert, I was simply obliged to do this to prevent anything bad from happening,” Grigorov said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
October 13 editorial cartoonsCartoons Monday's political cartoons include Donald Trump's consolation prize, government workers during shutdown, and more
-
Can Gaza momentum help end the war in Ukraine?Today's Big Question Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles hints at ‘warming relations’ between Ukraine and US
-
The Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners being releasedThe Explainer Triumphant Donald Trump addresses the Israeli parliament as families on both sides of the Gaza war reunite with their loved ones
