Dirty bombs: UK will need help
2007-11-13 14:03
London - The polonium poisoning of
Alexander Litvinenko tested Britain's response to a radiation
emergency and made clear it would need international help to
deal with a "dirty bomb" attack, a top health adviser says.
Nigel Lightfoot, chief adviser to the head of the Health
Protection Agency (HPA), said Britain would work closely with
European Union and G7 partners in response to such an attack,
and some patients might even be treated in France.
In an interview, he expanded on a recent speech in
which he said "no country is going to be able to cope by itself" with a dirty bomb.
He also said that whoever handled the polonium that killed
Litvinenko a year ago appeared ignorant of its properties,
particularly the ease with which it would leak out and form a
radioactive trail across London.
An ex-KGB agent who had become a harsh emigre critic of the
Kremlin, Litvinenko died in London on November 23 last year, three weeks after being poisoned. Russia has denied allegations of a state-backed murder plot and refused British demands to
extradite chief suspect Andrei Lugovoy, also a KGB veteran.
The Cold War-style episode sparked a public health alert as
radiation traces were found at dozens of sites including hotels,
restaurants, offices, on planes and at Arsenal's soccer stadium.
Over 750 people were tested for exposure to the rare
element. More than 130 were found to have come into probable
contact with it, but only 17 at levels that might cause a very
slight increase in their long-term risk of getting cancer.
"With a dirty bomb, you'll find there will be more people
exposed and requiring screening," Lightfoot said.
Bomb scenario
"It's become clear to most of us internationally, working
through all this in international planning, that we'd all have
to work together and help each other."
In a dirty bomb, radioactive material is packed alongside
conventional explosives and dispersed on detonation. Security
officials have long feared such a device could be attractive to
terrorists because of the potential for panic and disruption.
A 2005 disaster planning paper by the US Department of
Homeland Security considered a scenario in which three dirty
bombs went off in nearby cities. At each site, it estimated 180
fatalities, 270 injuries and up to 20 000 people contaminated.
The economic impact could be "up to billions of dollars".
Lightfoot said some patients might be treated in other
countries after a dirty bomb attack in Britain, though this
would be for recovering patients, not those needing acute care.
"You might want to think about moving patients to somebody
else's facilities," he said, citing France as an example. "Why
not? They've got a very big radiation hospital in Paris."
Lightfoot said the amount of polonium that killed Litvinenko
was like "a few grains of salt on your nail". He is believed to
have drunk it in a cup of tea he was served when meeting two
Russians at a London hotel on November 1 last year.
Lightfoot rejected criticism from security experts who
questioned at the time how authorities would deal with a
larger-scale radiation incident.
Radiation from a dirty bomb would immediately be detected
through equipment carried by emergency services, he said.