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Britain

Polonium poisoning -- the details

2006-11-26

LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Polonium 210, the highly toxic radioactive isotope found in the body of poisoned former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko is a very rare, exotic material that is difficult to obtain, scientists said on Friday.

Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) said Litvinenko, who died on Thursday in a London hospital, had a significant amount of the radioactive isotope in his body. But how it got there and where it came from is a mystery.

Hmmmm, *who* has people who work in mysterious ways ... [drums fingers] ...

Although the by-product of uranium that was discovered by Polish chemist Marie Sklodowska Curie in 1898 is found in small amounts in the environment, most of it is made synthetically. Radiation and chemistry experts say large-scale equipment, such as a nuclear reactor, would be needed to produce sufficient amounts to cause death. "It is not as simple as the idea that somebody might have broken into a radioactivity cabinet at some local hospital and walked off with some polonium," Dr Andrea Sella, a lecturer in chemistry at University College London, told Reuters.

"You can't make this at home. This is in a different league," he added.

Hmmmm, *who* has reactors that could make polonium ... [drums fingers] ...

Although scientists would not speculate on the source of the polonium, Sella said Litvinenko's death was not the work of amateurs. "This is not some random killing. This is not a tool chosen by a group of amateurs. These people had some serious resources behind them," he said.

Hmmmm, *who* has those kinds of resources ... [drums fingers] ...

Polonium-210 is a solid that can be dissolved in a solution. It is not a radiation hazard unless it is absorbed by the body by inhaling, eating or drinking it or if it gets in a wound, according to the HPA. "It decays mainly by emitting alpha particles, which are unable to penetrate a sheet of paper and so it is not a hazard unless ingested, said Professor William Gelletly of the University of Surrey.

Exposure to a short, intense burst of radiation causes major damage to key control centres in cells. Alpha particles emitted by polonium are absorbed very quickly by the body. "An alpha particle strikes a strand of DNA. It snips it in two, which is bad news, or glues two strands together. Either way normal cell repair mechanisms may be unable to sort that out," said Sella. "The result is that essentially the cellular command and control network (in the body) falls apart. That is what radiation sickness is all about," he added.

Knocks the heck out of your immune system, and since polonium is also a heavy metal it has significant effects on the kidneys. On the immune system side you have a big decrease in white cells responsible for fighting infection, loss of gastric and intestinal lining cells that ordinarily keep the outside out in the gut, etc.

Professor David Ray, of the University of Nottingham, Queens Medical Centre, said even if a high dose of radiation could not be detected externally after Litvinenko was admitted to hospital, it is still possible that a fatal dose could have concentrated in deep tissues such as bone marrow. "The limited information that has been released about Mr. Litvinenko's condition and the timing of his death is consistent with either radiation poisoning or chemicals that stop cell division," he said.

Polonium-210 also has a very short half-life. The longer the half life the less radioactivity is emitted from the material. "Polonium 210 has a half-life of 138 days. That is long enough so you can handle it and deliver it to your target and it will pack punch. A smallish amount of material will pack a significant punch," Sella said.

Posted by:Steve White

#11 .com Oooh, I want some o' that! Something new at Starbucks?

#6 How much does that run RD?

its expensive shiite, that's why I only smoke my Folgers Krystals w/ Kaffeine these dayz.

»|-)

Posted by: RD 2006-11-26 21:19

#10 With Polonium sprinkles, Venti, $157,853.95. Without, $4.95.

Posted by: .com 2006-11-26 16:13

#9 How much does that run RD?

Posted by: Shipman 2006-11-26 16:11

#8 We drink tea.

Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-11-26 15:08

#7 Oooh, I want some o' that! Something new at Starbucks?

Posted by: .com 2006-11-26 15:03

#6 Which is you biggest killer?

Polonium, 2nd hand smoke, 2nd hand snakes, Rethuglicans, Haliburton death squads, ignorance, stupidity..

Or Spembles without their Endorphin Laced Ethyl-Alcohol Kocaine-Koffee every morning!

Posted by: RD 2006-11-26 14:57

#5
Polonium, 2nd hand smoke, 2nd hand snakes, Rethuglicans, Haliburton death squads, ignorance, stupidity.
Which is you biggest killer?

Posted by: Shipman 2006-11-26 07:50

#4 Polonium decays so rapidly it has been used as a heat source in some space probes (of note is Po-210 was used in the Soviet Lunokhod lunar rovers in the early 1970's for this purpose), so rapidly a half of gram of it will get to 500 deg C and boil itself away in a few days and so radioactive the air around it will glow a pale blue. Chunks of Polonium-beryllium (less than an inch) were used in at least the first three atomic bombs as trigger mechanisms. Some anti-static brushes used for photographic purposes contain polonium. . Extremely small amounts of this material are regarded as fatal when ingested. The maximum permissible body burden for ingested polonium can be represented by a particle weighing only 6.8 x 10-12 g. Weight for weight it is about 2.5 x 1011 times as toxic as
hydrocyanic acid. Polonium radiation has been implicated in smoking-related lung cancer, tobacco fertilized with modern phosphate fertilizers now contains minuscule amounts of polonium, but even this can be significant. The common man's most common exposure to polonium would be through cigarette smoke. You can make this at home just by burning non-organic tobacco, although the amounts released will not be enough to kill you very quickly. Possibly this contamination may be interfering with the forensic investigation into Litvinenko's death. The "trace" of polonium found so far has to be balanced against the sensitivity of the tests used.

Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2006-11-26 05:26

#3 DRUDGEREPORT > quotes source that claims it was a DEATH SPRAY sprayed on Litvinenko's food, later ingested by same.

Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-11-26 01:53

#2 Isn't this stuff used in nuclear weapons as a nuetron source? Doesn't that kind of send a message all by itself?

Posted by: Iblis 2006-11-26 00:39

#1 This type of poisoning should be a wakeup call to the west; now terrorists will want to work on the unique properties of the alpha wave nature and light mass nature of this potential wmd source! For instance; a non mechanical [completely stealth] delivery system (ie: a balloon filled with Polonium 210 within a balloon filled with Helium).

Posted by: smn 2006-11-26 00:28

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