Reply #67: yes, this 'oversight' is a much more likely source of health problems [View All]

[treepig]

for the general population . . .

TUWAITHA, Iraq (CNN) -- Villagers near Iraq's largest nuclear research facility complain that they are falling ill from what doctors say may be radiation poisoning.

The research facility, which stores nonweapons-grade radioactive materials, was looted in the final days of the Iraq war. Many containers were stolen and used by residents near the Tuwaitha complex to store drinking water, among other things. The facility is about six miles (10 kilometers) south of Baghdad.

U.N. weapons inspectors who monitored the site before the war said low-grade radioactive material may have been stored in the drums.

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency said they had sealed nuclear materials before the start of the war.

more at http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/05/16/sprj.nilaw.iraq.radiation/