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Second Man Tests Positive in London Radiation Poisoning Case

By Tom Rivers
London
01 December 2006

British media are reporting that the man who met with the former Russian spy who died of radiation poisoning last week has also tested positive for radiation poisoning. For VOA News, Tom Rivers reports from London.

The man Alexander Litvinenko dined with in London on the day the Russian became ill has also reportedly tested positive for the highly radioactive substance polonium 210, the same substance found in Litvinenko's body.

The man's name has not been revealed by British authorities, but British news media say he is Mario Scaramella, an Italian academic and espionage expert. Britain's Health Protection Agency says urine sample results show a "significant amount" of the radioactive isotope in his system. He is being examined at London's University College Hospital, where Litvinenko was treated.

On November 1, Litvinenko and the man met to discuss an e-mail the man reportedly received that contained a number of names, including theirs, whose lives were said to be in danger.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Alexander Goldfarb, who was a friend of Litvinenko, said more information about the "significant dosage" the second man received will be important in determining how the radiation entered his system. Goldfarb says he has every confidence British authorities will uncover who was behind the plot.

"The police have been doing a fantastic job and the number and the quality of talents that have been assigned to this is, you cannot wish better and they have produced so much, progressed so much to today that we are absolutely confident that they will get to the bottom of it," he said.

A post-mortem was done on the body of Alexander Litvinenko on Friday. The results are not expected to be released for a number of days.

So far, some 12 locations in Britain have shown traces of the radioactive poison and officials say that list may grow as the investigation continues.

One of two British Airways planes at Heathrow Airport that tested positive for traces of polonium 210 has been put back into service. A third B.A. plane of interest has been flown back from Moscow to London, where it will be tested.