Radiation found at 12 sites in UK - British home secretary
30/11/2006 17:13 LONDON, November 30 (RIA Novosti) - Traces of radiation have been discovered at 12 sites in Britain being tested as part of investigations into the death of a Russian ex-FSB officer, the British home secretary said Thursday.
John Reid told parliament that police are monitoring 24 sites and have found radiation in 12 of them, but said the health risk to the public is very low.
Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian security defector and a close associate of fugitive Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, died last Thursday in a London hospital. British health officials said Friday a large dose of radioactive polonium-210 had been found in his body.
Five planes that flew the Moscow-London route have been singled out for radiation tests as part of investigations. So far two British Airways jets grounded in London and one in Moscow have tested positive for radiation contamination.
The British Airport Authority (BAA) examined a fourth plane for radiation and said no traces had been found onboard. The aircraft, a Boeing 737 operated by the private Russian airline Transaero, arrived at London earlier on Thursday.
Reid said the Home Office is interested in a fifth plane, also owned by a Russian airline, but did not name the carrier.
British Airways said the planes being tested made a total of 221 flights in Europe between October 25 and November 29.
British Airways officials said the company had been trying to contact and advise all 33,000 passengers who traveled on the planes from October 25, a week before Litvinenko claimed to have been poisoned in a London sushi bar.
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