§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to his answer of 1 September 2003, to the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (John Barrett),Official Report, column 809W, if he will make a statement on the work of the task force set up to remove radioactive material removed from the civil nuclear facility at al-Tuwaitha in Iraq. [138617]
§ Mr. RammellI have been asked to reply.
The findings of the inspection team which assessed the extent and impact of the looting of the storage drums and containers from Al Tuwaitha has been reported by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The inspection team found that approximately 200 containers, used for storing low-enriched uranium, had been removed and the contents dispersed. The quantity and type of compounds dispersed were not found to be sensitive from a proliferation point of view. The site has now been secured and the radioactive material sealed in concrete.
A second task force, consisting of the Iraqi Ministry of Health, Ministry of the Environment, World Health Organisation (WHO), Coalition Provisional Authority, IAEA and NGOs was convened to address the potential risk to public health caused by the residual radioactive materials within the looted containers. As a result, the MoH, MoE and WHO have initiated a survey, through local public health centres, to assess and monitor the population potentially affected. The survey, still in its preliminary phase, has been disrupted by the impact of the bombing of the UN HQ on 19 August 2003 and has yet to be completed. The UK Government has provided £6 million to WHO in 2003 to support WHOs sectoral lead in health in Iraq.