Warden Messages
31 January 2007
Update Information Regarding Polonium-210
This Warden Message is meant primarily for Americans who were in Britain from November through December 2006. It is an update to the December 11, 2006 warden message concerning events in the United Kingdom involving the radioactive material Polonium-210 (Po-210), which have caused concerns for possible public health risks.
The UK Health Protection Agency (HPA) has advised people who were in The Pine Bar of the Millennium Hotel in London on October 31, November 1, or November 2 to contact the National Health Service (NHS) Direct, at 0845-4647 inside the UK, or by email at overseasadvice@hpa.org.uk if you were outside the UK. The HPA posts updates on this issue at: http://www.hpa.org.uk/polonium/default.htm .
Recent media reports have suggested that persons who visited the Millennium Hotel Pine Bar through mid-December 2006 may have risked contact with Polonium-210.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is actively assessing this incident in close cooperation with British health authorities and will revise public guidance on this subject as necessary. For more information from the CDC on Po-210 public health issues, please visit their website at http://www.bt.cdc.gov/radiation/isotopes/polonium/qa.asp.
The CDC advises that if you visited the Pine Bar of the Millennium Hotel prior to its closure on November 23, and have specific concerns about your health, see your health care provider, who should be able to advise whether further evaluation or testing is needed. Your health care provider may contact your state health department for additional information on assessing your Po-210 exposure or contamination. The CDC is also available to assist you, your health care provider, and your state health department in interpreting results of any tests that you and your health care provider may decide to undertake.
You may also contact the CDC by phone via their 24/7 Operations Center at (770) 488-7100, or by email eocop@cdc.gov.
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