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Wednesday, 6 February, 2002, 11:18 GMT
Georgia tackles nuclear hangover
By the BBC's Chloe Arnold in Baku Nuclear experts begin a series of meetings in Georgia on Wednesday to discuss ways of making safe abandoned radioactive material left over from the Soviet era. On Sunday, a team of specialists retrieved two devices emitting lethal levels of radiation from a remote forest in the west of the country. The discovery of two highly radioactive cylinders in woods near the border with Russia has sparked fears there may be others scattered across remote areas of Georgia. The experts - from the United States, Russia, France, Germany and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - are meeting Georgian officials to look at ways of finding the devices and storing them in a safe and secure location. 'Dirty bomb fears' On Sunday, a team of specialists began the painstaking removal of the cylinders from snow-bound woods near the breakaway region of Abkhazia.
All three suffered severe radiation burns. The cylinders - each about the size of a man's hands - contained Strontium 90, and emitted more than 20 times the amount of radiation used to treat cancer patients. They formed part of a Soviet-built generator which brought power to this isolated region. Six similar devices have been retrieved in Georgia since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. But radiation specialists say there may be several more which need to be made safe. There are fears the devices could fall into the wrong hands if they are not found, and could then be used to create what is known as a "dirty bomb", a contraption that spreads toxic radiation when exploded.
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