IAEA Media Advisory
IAEA Media Advisory 2003/3001b (30 January 2003)
News Update on Iraq Inspections
UNMOVIC IAEA Press Statement on Inspection Activities in Iraq. 30 January 2003
For full coverage, see the pages on IAEA and Iraq.
30 January 2003 -- UNMOVIC sought two more private interviews today. In both cases, the Iraqi individuals requested to be interviewed in private showed up with a person at the agreed hotel and insisted on having the individual with them during an interview. Consequently, no private interviews took place.
Two UNMOVIC biological teams inspected distilleries in the area about 30 km northeast of Baghdad: the Al Tharthar Distillery and the Al Awaaly Distillery. Both are privately owned facilities, which produce Arak, gin and whiskey. A third biological team inspected an infectious diseases diagnostic laboratory located in the Central Public Health laboratories building in central Baghdad.
An UNMOVIC chemical team went by helicopter to inspect the State Company for Petrochemicals Industry in Basra. This facility is primarily involved in the production of chlorine and polymers.
Two IAEA teams conducted inspections in Iraq on January 30th. One team performed an inspection at the 17th April Facility in Baghdad. The facility produces precision castings for industrial purposes. A second team performed a motorized radiation survey in areas south east of Baghdad.
Air sampling equipment has been installed by the IAEA and is operating
on the roof of the Canal Hotel, the operations base for IAEA inspections
in Iraq. This is the initial step in the re-installation of both
fixed and mobile air samplers as part of wide-area environmental
monitoring in Iraq.
Hiro Ueki
Spokesman for UNMOVIC and the IAEA in Baghdad
About the IAEA
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) serves as the world's foremost intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the peaceful use of nuclear technology. Established as an autonomous organization under the United Nations (UN) in 1957, the IAEA carries out programmes to maximize the useful contribution of nuclear technology to society while verifying its peaceful use.
Press Contacts
Marc Vidricaire
Director and Spokesperson
Division of Public Information
[43-1] 2600-21270
m.vidricaire@iaea.org
Melissa Fleming
Head of Media & Outreach/Spokesperson
Div. of Public Information
[43-1] 2600-21275
[43] 699-165-21275 (mobile)
m.fleming@iaea.org
NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit the IAEA's Press Section, or call the IAEA's Division of Public Information at (431) 2600-21270.