Egypt monitors Israel’s
nuclear reactor

Egypt has reportedly installed advanced detectors at its border to monitor any radiation coming from Israel’s Dimona reactor, Egyptian officials said.

Seventeen stations were reportedly installed along the eastern Sinai Peninsula section of its border with Israel in an effort to monitor radiation from the reactor, said to be the production facility for Israel’s nuclear weapons.

Egypt says it is concerned that nuclear material could contaminate the air and water in the Sinai. The detectors are said to be capable of detecting changes in radiation levels within an hour.

Ali Islam, director of the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, said the nearest radiation-monitoring station in the Sinai Peninsula was 73 kilometers from the nuclear reactor in Dimona. Islam said Egypt has also operated mobile units, for installation on either aircraft or vehicles, that could detect radiation directly along the Egyptian-Israeli border.

So far, officials said, Egyptian authorities have not obtained evidence of unusually high radiation levels from Israel.