Litvinenko scare useful test for 'dirty bomb' attack: experts
PARIS (AFP) — The murder of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned by polonium 210, showed how authorities should handle any terror attack involving radiological weapons, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) says.
By being swift, clear and factual in telling the public about what had happened and about the risks from the highly radioactive element used in the killing, the British authorities were able to stem any panic or stigma, it says in next Saturday's issue.
Researchers led by James Rubin of the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, carried out 1,000 phone interviews with Londoners and 86 interviews with Londoners who had been potentially exposed to the polonium.
Of those interviewed, only 11.7 percent believed that their health had been at risk.
Sixty-two percent said they believed they had been well informed.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents said there was no risk to their health as they had not been in one of the areas known to be contaminated with polonium 210 -- a key message of the public information campaign put out by health agencies.
"Few participants reported that the incident had any major impact on their life," the study says. "Although some mentioned heightened anxiety, this was temporary for most. Only one person reported stigmatisation as a result of the incident."
In a commentary also carried by the BMJ, University of Alabama public health professor Steven Becker noted the results would have been different if people had perceived the incident as a terrorist attack rather than a targeted murder.
"In a large-scale terrorist attack involving radioactive materials -- a 'dirty bomb', for example-- levels of public concern could be dramatically higher," said Becker.
Even so, the lesson of giving the public "detailed, comprehensive and relevant" health information remained the same, he said.
"Indeed, in a terrorist incident involving radioactive materials, effective risk communication may be the most important way to reduce morbidity and mortality, tackle people's concerns, avoid the impact on behaviour, and maintain public trust and confidence," he said.
Litvinenko, a Russian exile with British citizenship, was killed after his tea was poisoned at a central London hotel on November 1 last year. He died three weeks later in hospital, prompting claims of a Kremlin-backed assassination.
Former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi is the prime suspect in the killing. Russia has refused to extradite him to face these accusations.
