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| Radiation Found on British Airways Planes |
| 2006-11-29 |
| ONDON — Authorities found small traces of radiation on two British Airways 767 jetliners Wednesday, as investigators widened their search for clues into the poisoning death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. Home Secretary John Reid disclosed the search following a meeting with COBRA, the government's emergency committee. Reid said two planes had been tested so far and that another would be tested. The initial results of the forensic tests had shown very low traces of a radioactive substance onboard two aircraft, British Airways said in a statement. The company added that the investigation is confined to the three planes, which will remain out of service until further notice. High doses of polonium-210 — a rare radioactive element usually manufactured in specialized nuclear facilities — were found in Litvinenko's body, and traces of radiation have been found at sites in London connected with the investigation of his death. |
| Posted by:Sherry |
| #9 Perhaps Moscow is regularly shipping radiactive ammo like Po-210 all over the world to keep its agents supplied. I understand the stuff deteriorates very quickly. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2006-11-29 21:12 |
| #8 NPR said the two airplanes on which the radiation traces were found had recently flown from Moscow. A third plane is being held in Moscow for testing. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-11-29 20:10 |
| #7 I assume the cost of extracting the uranium, and concentrating it to make it useable, would be more expensive than burning the coal, right? Bobby I think AC is talking about mining the slag, where it (in theory) would be concentrated. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2006-11-29 17:48 |
| #6 the radiation was planted by the EADS/AIRBUS consortium in an effort to derail the unwanted attention focused on the debacles called A380 / A350/ /snark off |
| Posted by: USN, ret. 2006-11-29 16:34 |
| #5 Very interesting, AC. I assume the cost of extracting the uranium, and concentrating it to make it useable, would be more expensive than burning the coal, right? But, then....I am an engineer.... |
| Posted by: Bobby 2006-11-29 16:22 |
| #4 Radiation exists everywhere, visible light and radio waves are radiation, different only in energy and wavelength from lethal gamma rays. What they mean (and say) is indications of highly radioactive material. Beyond that almost all substances are radioactive to a measurable degree. A typical block of granite is radioactive enough to vaporize itself in a few hundred thousand years if it were perfectly insulated. Coal is radioactive, largely thanks to trace amounts of uranium (1-3 ppm) and thorium (6-9 ppm). The latter trace elements become concentrated in the coal ash, so much so that one scientist has suggested mining ash heaps as a source of these metals. The coal power industry dumps about 1000 tons of uranium, and up to three times that much thorium, into the environment every year, millions of times the radioactive leakage permitted for nuclear powerplants. If it were extracted and used in a rector, the tiny percentage of uranium in a given amount of coal could generate more energy than burning the coal itself. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2006-11-29 15:48 |
| #3 If I intended to use a very rare substance to kill someone I doubt I'd take it aboard an airplane. I'd drive it from Moscow. Perhaps I'd take a plane back, but I certainly wouldn't have any traces of the stuff with me then. I think this is a red hering. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2006-11-29 15:01 |
| #2 Totally useless information without more details. The radiation COULD have come from a cancer patient, or a smoke detector, or just a random blot of dust. Was it specifically polonium-210? Or something else? |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-11-29 14:56 |
| #1 Really? And from where have those planes been flying recently? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-11-29 14:37 |