The poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko with polonium-210 has raised questions about this little known chemical element outside the nuclear energy scope.
We have produced a document about this agent with the help of the expert in toxicology, Doctor José Cabrera.
What is polonium-210?
Polonium is a radioactive chemical element which can be found in nature.
In 1898, Pierre and Marie Curie extracted, for the first time, this element from a source of uranium known as pitchblende.
There are 27 isotopes of polonium, with atomic mass numbers that range from 192 to 218.
Polonium-210 is the only element present in nature and that is very hard to handle.
It is currently employed in nuclear power plants and in atomic research centres.
What does it look like?
Polonium usually exists as an oxide.
It is a red powder that is out of the limits of human perception and which is only observable in industrial environment, for example, when it is handled in nuclear power plants.
When can it be considered lethal?
Polonium radiation can be deadly from half of milligram of the element.
It is 50 times more radioactive than the uranium.
In the research field, polonium-210 is used in micrograms, whereas in nuclear power plants it can be found in larger concentrations.
Polonium-210 needs to be handled wearing lead gloves and in special environments.
What effects does polonium-210 have on the human body?
Its ingestion or inhalation in excessive quantities can have the same consequences of the Hiroshima radiation, but individually.
These effects can be seen from the third day as they are not immediate.
The first symptoms are hair loss and gastrointestinal discomfort, consequently, liver and kidneys failure; the metabolism shuts down and the bone marrow paralyzes.
The multi-organ failure will cause the death.
How could Litvinenko be exposed to polonium-210 without noticing?
Litvinenko could have ingested it in an enough salty or sweet meal or drink to disguise any change in their flavour.
He could also have smoked a cigarette filled with polonium-210.
Another option could be its injection, but in this case Litvinenko would have known.
Can it affect the people that were with him?
It is excluded that the polonium was directly in the air since everyone that was near Litvinenko would have suffered the same fate.
The people that came in contact with him (in the hospital, hotel, restaurant…) could have suffered, at its worst, gastrointestinal problems.
For it to happen, they either had to have inhaled contaminated with polonium or had to come into contact with Litvinenko sweat, faeces or urine
October 2015
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