An enrichment site - such as Fordo - takes uranium - which comes in different forms, or isotopes - and separates it into the type of uranium that’s used for nuclear reactors and bombs.
But dropping a bomb on properly stored stockpiles of enriched uranium does not mean a “nuclear incident” on the same scale as disasters that occurred at nuclear power plants in Fukushima or Chernobyl.
“Highly enriched uranium is about three times more radioactive than non-enriched uranium. But in fact, on the scale of things, neither of them are particularly densely radioactive," explains Prof Jim Smith, from the University of Portsmouth, who has studied the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster.
"It wouldn’t cause a major environmental contamination problem."
Smith says he's more concerned about "fission products" - "the things that uranium splits up to when it's in a reactor or in a bomb".
But because no nuclear reaction is taking place at the enrichment sites - and a blast from a bomb would not trigger one - these dangerous radioactive "fission products" would not be present, he says.
Uranium radiation also does not travel far - making any risk more of a local problem. For people close to the site, breathing in uranium particles could cause longer term health problems.
Some of the substances used in uranium enrichment are also chemically hazardous – but would only contaminate the immediate area.
The UN’s nuclear watchdog - the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - said earlier there had been "no increase in off-site radiation levels" reported after the US struck three nuclear sites in Iran. But said it would provide further assessments as more information became available. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/ckg3rzj8emjt
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