Evening Lecture:

Litvinenko, Clearing Up After a Murder
Mr Peter Burgess, NPL

Opening of the IBA Room

28th November 2007

The presentation will cover the sad tale of the murder of Alexander Litvinenko from the beginning to where we are now. The chemical, physical and radiological characteristics of Po-210 will be described along with possible sources. The train of events will be covered - when was the suspicion that he'd been given a radioactive poison arise, how did the authorities react to this, which aspects did the various agencies cover? Monitoring is not easy - alpha particles have a short range and are easily absorbed by any covering. How did the monitoring staff manage this?

One major problem was the diversity of places where contamination was found. This put a huge load on monitoring and co-ordinating teams. How did the public react? Most people were fairly unconcerned because it was seen as an assassination, not a terrorist attack. How much of the contamination came from the victim and how much might have come from the murderers? Many things are known, many things are still a mystery. More information will definitely be forthcoming between the writing of this abstract and the day of presentation.

Wine & Snacks: 17.30 - 18.30

Lecture & Discussion: 18.30 - 19.30

Registration Fees: Student / Trainee BIR Members: £5

BIR Members: £10

Non BIR Members: £15

This meeting is kindly sponsored by IBA

To register please phone the Conference Office on +44 (0)20 7307 1406