It turns out we were looking in the wrong place for weapons of mass destruction.
They weren’t in Iraq.
They were in Lehman Brothers’ portfolio.
The bankrupt investment bank holds as much as 500,000 pounds of uranium yellowcake — enough to make a nuclear bomb — it was learned yesterday.
And it’s at least as radioactive as the toxic subprime mortgages that brought down the storied Wall Street icon.
And not only does Lehman have the yellowcake, it may have to eat it, too.
It can’t get rid of the ore, because with the possible exception of North Korea, nobody is willing to cough up the price it wants — because the uranium market has tanked, sources told The Post.
And the failed firm, which just before imploding acquired the stockpile last fall, is holding off selling until prices improve, the sources said.
“We are not planning to sell at a price that’s not advantageous,” said a firm official who asked not to be identified.
Lehman in September sent shock waves through the nation’s economy when it was forced to file for bankruptcy after the government refused to bail it out.
It sold its brokerage arm to Barclays, leaving it with what no one else wanted — from toxic subprime-mortgage loans to toxic metals.
Lehman got stuck with the yellowcake in the throes of bankruptcy — the result of a financial contract that blew up in its face, according to Bloomberg News.
Since then, the cost of the ore, used mainly to fuel nuclear-power plants, has been plummeting as the economic slowdown puts a brake on demand.
Lehman’s nuclear stockpile is also helping to sink prices because no one knows when the company will drop its load into the system.
It tried to offload its yellowcake in one lump late last year when uranium was trading at close to $50 a pound, but the price quickly pulled back.
Buyers also are concerned over the fact that Lehman’s yellowcake is scattered over several Canadian facilities.
“Five hundred thousand pounds is what they hold and usually a spot deal is for 100,000 to 200,000 pounds,” said Jonathan Hinze, vice president of international operations at Ux Consulting Co.
Hinze said Lehman would probably get a better price if it sold its holdings piecemeal and moved it all to one location.