The United Nations nuclear watchdog told member states Wednesday it is searching for 2.5 tons of uranium that have gone missing from a site in war-torn Libya this week, raising concerns over safety and nuclear proliferation.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi said the missing uranium was discovered by agency inspectors on Tuesday during a routine inspection of the site.

That inspection had been originally scheduled to take place last year but was postponed due to a security situation in the region, he said.

When IAEA inspectors arrived to inspect the site, they "found that 10 drums containing approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of UOC [uranium ore concentrate] were not present as previously declared at a location in the state of Libya,” Grossi said in a statement reported by Reuters.

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It is unclear whether the original site was located, though the inspectors noted that it was stored at a site not under government control, and that reaching it required “complex logistics."

The agency warned that the lack of knowledge about the uranium could pose a radiological risk, as well as nuclear security concerns.

Natural uranium is a metal, and cannot be immediately used for energy production or bomb fuel. Converting it to a weapon requires a fairly complex enrichment process, including gas diffusion and centrifugation.

Still, experts warned that, if the uranium were obtained by a group with the proper means and resources, the missing amount could be used to produce 12 pounds of weapons-grade material.

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"The loss of knowledge about the present location of nuclear material may present a radiological risk, as well as nuclear security concerns," the IAEA said.