Dozens of staff at the two hospitals which treated the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko have been asked to provide urine for tests to see if they have been contaminated by radiation
Of the 4,000 staff at Barnet General Hospital and London's University College Hospital, 106 have been assessed for possible exposure.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said that as of Monday, 40 had been asked to provide a urine sample. Those 40 fall within the figure of 68 people requiring further assessment that the agency released on Tuesday night.
In an updated statement on Wednesday, the HPA revealed that the number of hospital staff required to give urine samples had risen to 49.
However, the agency said it was now satisfied there was no contamination risk at either of the two hospitals. Furthermore, no hospital staff have been referred to the specialist clinic which is testing people with suspicious symptoms.
"All areas in both hospitals have now been checked for contamination and the HPA is satisfied that there is no contamination that would pose a public health risk," an HPA spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
"All areas are now open for normal activities and to the public and staff. Of the total 4,000 staff in both hospitals, some 160 healthcare workers needed to be assessed to determine whether they had been at potential risk of contamination in the course of their duties in the hospital and contact they had with the patient.
"These 160 assessments have now been completed. As a precaution, of these, some 49 healthcare staff have been asked by HPA staff who have carried out the assessments to provide urine samples for testing. These tests will take up to a week to produce results. Even if a test shows that an individual has been exposed, the level of risk to health is extremely low. None of these healthcare workers have been referred to the specialist clinic."
Meanwhile, Italian security expert Mario Scaramella, who was one of the last people to see Litvinenko before he fell ill, said tests have cleared him of radioactive contamination.
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Scaramella travelled from Rome to meet with Litvinenko at a sushi bar in London on November 1 - the day the former intelligence agent first reported the symptoms that ultimately led to his death in the intensive care ward of a central London hospital.
