Radioactive poison fear over spy
By Suzie Decker,WNS London Correspondent
LONDON - The Russian dissident ill in a London hospital may have been poisoned with a radioactive substance, an expert toxicologist has said. Professor John Henry said Alexander Litvinenko, 43, had symptoms consistent with thallium poisoning but other symptoms linked to other substances. "It's not 100% thallium," Dr Henry said outside University College Hospital. He said the poison may have been radioactive thallium, which would now be difficult to trace. He said: "It may be too late. If it's a radioactive poison with a short half-life it may have gone. "Radioactive thallium degrades very rapidly so that by now we've missed the chance [to trace the poison]."
Radioactive thallium is used in hospitals but Dr Henry said it was not used in massive doses consistent with Mr Litvinenko's condition. "Poisons can be taken by mouth, they can be injected, they can be inhaled," he said. "In this case his symptoms are gastro-intestinal so the probability is that he has swallowed something that is poisoned. "Radioactive thallium adds a new dimension to this case. It means that his bone marrow is at very high risk and we have to see how his cells recover. It is very difficult to treat because you have to rely on the body's natural resilience." The critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin fell ill on 1 November after a meeting at a London sushi bar. Scotland Yard anti-terrorist officers have taken charge of the investigation into the poisoning by thallium of a former KGB colonel living in the UK. The hospital said his condition was unchanged overnight.
The Kremlin has dismissed as "sheer nonsense" claims it was involved. Friends of Mr Litvinenko have alleged he was poisoned because he was critical of the Russian government. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "We cannot comment on the very fact of what happened to Litvinenko. "We don't consider it possible to comment on the statements accusing the Kremlin because it is nothing but sheer nonsense." Russia's foreign intelligence service has issued a statement denying any involvement.
posted by wnsworld @ 2:15 PM
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