IRAQ - TUWAITHA LOOTERS COULD HAVE BEEN RECEIVED LIFE-THREATENING DOSES WHILE INSIDE THE PLANT

Bassem Mroue (AP-Baghdad), "Illness reported after N-site looting", The Associated Press, May 22, 2003

David Albright, an American nuclear expert who served on UN-led inspection teams during the 1990s, said the major health concern would involve those who went inside the facility [the Tuwaitha plant] to areas where highly radioactive sources were stored.

"These sources emit gamma radiation that penetrates the body and can pose a life-threatening risk if a person is exposed to the source too long," he said.