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Lukashevich stated that the region could be at risk of “contamination by highly enriched uranium and it would no longer be possible to account for nuclear material, its safety and control.” He added that such material could fall into the wrong hands.
The MNSR is tank-in-pool type, with highly enriched fuel (~ 90% U235 ). The tank is immersed in a large pool, and the core is, in turn, immersed in the tank. The maximum nominal power is ~ 30 kW, the power being removed by natural convection. The central core is formed of about 347 fuel rods, with 4 tie rods and 3 dummy elements distributed on a total of ten circles, each consisting of a number of fuel rods ranging between 6 and 62. A thick beryllium reflector (~ 10 cm) surrounds the core radially.
so seems to be pretty credible
The Foreign Ministry called on the U.N. nuclear agency to urgently assess the risk as the United States considers military action to punish Syria's government for an alleged gas attack. "If a warhead, by design or by chance, were to hit the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) near Damascus, the consequences could be catastrophic," a ministry statement said.