Scientist plants radioactive material in rival's office

[Susan L Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

Scientist plants radioactive material in rival's office



Associated Press

Sept. 29, 2003 07:05 AM



BEIJING - A Chinese nuclear scientist has been given a suspended death 

sentence for planting radioactive materials in the office of a business 

rival, sickening the man and 74 other people, official newspapers 

reported Monday.



Nuclear medicine researcher Gu Jiming stashed a case containing pellets 

of iridium 192 above ceiling panels at a hospital in the southern city 

of Guangzhou, the Beijing Evening News reported.



Soon after the victim - identified only by his surname, Liu - began 

complaining of fatigue, loss of appetite, headaches and vomiting, the 

paper said.



A medical checkup two months later revealed serious irregularities in 

his white blood cell count. At that point his office was searched with 

detection equipment and the radioactive materials discovered.



Others at the hospital also complained of fatigue, memory loss, bleeding 

gums and other symptoms, the report said. A nurse who was five months 

pregnant nearly suffered a miscarriage because of the radiation 

exposure, it said.



Gu's research institute and Liu's hospital had cooperated in forming a 

laser treatment center in 1997, but the two men had feuded over 

management, bonuses, economic benefits and other matters.



"Gu held hatred for Liu in his heart, and lay in wait for a chance at 

revenge," the Beijing Evening News report said.



Suspended death sentences are usually commuted to life in prison after 

two years of good behavior. Gu's assistant, Fang Zhenhua, who had only a 

primary school education, was also sentenced to 15 years for helping Gu 

transport and place the iridium.



Gu obtained the substance by falsifying documents to buy an industrial 

machine that uses iridium 192 to check welded joints, the paper said.



Scientists say iridium could be used to create a radiological "dirty 

bomb," and its possession is usually tightly controlled.



Find this article at:

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0929ChinaRadCrime29-ON.html

-- 

.....................................................

Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director

Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee

102 Robertsville Road, Suite B, Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Toll free 888-770-3073 ~ www.local-oversight.org

.....................................................





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