Yemen takes nuclear waste precautions

Sanaa, Yemen, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Yemen said Sunday it has implemented precautionary measures following the discovery of nuclear waste off the shores of nearby Somalia.

While the government sources did not specify what actions were taken, they said a team of U.N. experts arrived on to test the waste, believed to be highly toxic.

Sources told the daily September 26, which has close ties to the presidential palace, the waste was found in the past two days.

The unidentified sources said authorities had information that some ships had dumped the waste into regional waters after the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami Dec. 26.

They said tidal waves might have carried the waste to Somalia's shores, prompting the Yemeni authorities "to take the necessary measures to prevent the waste from coming" to its own shores.

Opposition newspapers last week claimed foreign vessels had emptied nuclear waste off Yemen's shores in the Red Sea.