Doctors identify poison used on Yushchenko

Jeremy Page
December 18, 2004

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11720359%255E2703,00.html

MEDICAL experts have identified the type of dioxin used to poison Ukraine opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko in a significant breakthrough in his efforts to pinpoint the culprit.

Mr Yushchenko has forbidden them from revealing the results to avoid influencing the repeat of his presidential run-off with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich on Boxing Day.

Mr Yushchenko, a Western-leaning former central banker, said yesterday his opponent was planning unspecified "provocations" that could jeopardise the vote. He also said for the first time he was sure he was poisoned at a dinner with Ukrainian Security Service head Igor Smeshko and his deputy, Volodymyr Satsyuk, on September 5, the night he fell ill.

The test results are expected to provide compelling evidence to back up his claim and further incriminate Mr Yanukovich's Government and his powerful supporters in Ukraine and Russia.

Mr Yushchenko's supporters have suggested Russia ordered the poisoning to prevent the opposition leader, who advocates joining the European Union and NATO, from winning the election.

Last week, doctors confirmed that Mr Yushchenko was poisoned with dioxin, probably given to him in a creamy soup, but they could not say what type of dioxin or prove that it was an assassination attempt. Further tests at three laboratories identified the precise type of dioxin - the crucial fingerprint that could prove it was administered deliberately and reveal its origin, as well as its long-term effects on his health.

The head of one of the laboratories, BioDetection Systems in Amsterdam, said all three laboratories had identified the same dioxin, but he refused to reveal the name. He said Mr Yushchenko's wife had called Michael Zimpfer, the head of the Rudolfinerhaus clinic in Vienna where her husband was treated, to ask that the results be kept secret until after the election.

However, several top toxicologists said they believed the dioxin was the compound 2,3,7,8- tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) - a component of Agent Orange, a defoliant used in the Vietnam War.

"It's the best known and it's pretty toxic. In the old Soviet Union they would have studied these chemicals in detail. They may know more about the acute effects of dioxin poisoning than we do," British toxicologist John Henry said.

Tests this week showed Mr Yushchenko had 6000 times the normal level of dioxin in his system - the second-highest level recorded in a human being.

The lab results could reveal exactly where the dioxin came from by identifying the isomers of the chemicals, Dr Henry said.

"You could pinpoint it to a certain country, even a certain laboratory," he said. The results will be handed to Ukrainian prosecutors and legislators who have reopened an investigation.

Mr Yushchenko has vowed to prosecute the culprits.

The Times