[FirstClassSkeptic]

That’s because the U.S. can’t track or fully account for 5,900 pounds of “weapons usable” nuclear material that it once shipped overseas. Instead, U.S. officials have to rely on foreign governments’ assurances that the potentially cataclysmic stuff is safe. And when those officials occasionally visit the sites holding the nuclear material, nearly half the places “did not meet International Atomic Energy Agency security guidelines,” according to the GAO, Congress’ investigative arm.

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/1111/929 ... onium.html

So, why hasn't someone made a device and set it off, after all these years?

[rerevisionist]

These are very dense metals, and must be able to be melted and alloyed. I wonder if some of the stolen or nodded-through stuff could have been alloyed with other metal(s) to the correct density, then coated with a layer of gold, to simulate gold ingots? Same idea as tungsten. Just a thought. Especially if the stuff has been mysteriously 'cleaned' (what's the word?) and isn't radioactive.

[beren]

These are very dense metals, and must be able to be melted and alloyed. I wonder if some of the stolen or nodded-through stuff could have been alloyed with other metal(s) to the correct density, then coated with a layer of gold, to simulate gold ingots? Same idea as tungsten. Just a thought. Especially if the stuff has been mysteriously 'cleaned' (what's the word?) and isn't radioactive.

And the fiendishly clever part of it is that since plutonium is actually MORE valuable than gold, no one would suspect this ruse!