MOH: Launching 13 sites free of radioactive contamination in Basra

BAGHDAD –INA

The Ministry of Health and Environment announced today, Thursday, 13 sites free of radioactive contamination in Basra Governorate, after conducting radiological surveys on them.
Technical Undersecretary for Environmental Affairs Jassem Al-Falahi said in a statement to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), "Basra witnessed the announcement of many sites that have been cleaned up and removing radioactive contamination from them, which will constitute a breakthrough and a quantum leap in the field of supporting the efforts of Basra Governorate to attract investments, strengthen infrastructure and provide better services for a citizen.”

"The government pays great attention to Basra Governorate in all its service sectors and others, including this important file," Al-Falahi added, during a conference held in the Basra governorate building, in the presence of the head of the Advisors Authority and the head of the committee dealing with the pollution file.
He continued, "This achievement was the result of continuous follow-up by the radiological technical teams to close the file of contaminated sites after studying the final reports of radiological surveys of those sites."
In turn, the Board of Advisors, Hamid Al-Bahli, stated that "the radioactive pollution depleted uranium is part of the natural uranium found in the earth and the human body, and that the Council of Ministers gave great importance to this topic," explaining that "it is common in Iraq that the radiation after 2003, but it is the result of previous wars.”.

In addition, the Director General of the Environmental Awareness and Information Department, Amir Ali Al-Hassoun, said, "The technical bodies represented by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Department of Waste Treatment, the Iraqi Authority for the Control of Radioactive Sources and the Center for Radiation Protection to the local government made serious efforts and worked around the clock." .

In a related context, the director of the Radiation Protection Center, Sabah Al-Husseini, pointed out that "the major and fundamental goal is to declare Iraq free of radiation, and this is certainly a great national achievement for all of Iraq and Basra, and it fits with international standards and with the principles of the International Atomic Energy Agency."