Medical Staff To Be Tested For Radiation After Litvinenko Death

Aleksandr Litvinenko on the hospital bed that would also prove to be his death bed (epa) November 29, 2006 -- Britain's Health Protection Agency says 49 medical staff at two London hospitals will be tested for possible radioactive contamination following the death of a former Russian intelligence agent turned Kremlin critic, Aleksandr Litvinenko.

The two hospitals had treated Litvinenko before he died on November 23. His body was found to contain a large quantity of a highly radioactive material, polonium-210.

A spokesman for the agency, Lawrence Knight, said that both hospitals had been checked for radiation and found safe. He said all areas were open to the public.

According to the Health Protection Agency, more than 1,100 people called a special hotline after Litvinenko's death to express concerns they may have been contaminated. Sixty-eight of them, including the 49 hospital staff, were referred to health authorities.

(AP)