[ RadSafe ] Polonium-210 poisoning

[Larry Addis]

Chris,

I would imagine "old radium tubes" whatever they may be, are somewhat hard
to find.  Devices (little tubes) containing 15 mCi each may be bought
without a license in the US.  Lethal dose is relatively low. I think someone
on this board did the internal dosimetry and posted it previously.

LA

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Busby, Chris
Sent: Sunday, September 11, 2011 4:39 AM
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List;
The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Polonium-210 poisoning


Yes. Interesting. Everyone blamed the Russians because it was said that only
someone with access to a reactor could have put the poison together i.e. it
was not a amateur job. But it is easy to separate Po210 from old radium
tubes with nitric acid and baking soda; a kitchen job, though you'd have to
be jolly careful. I think KGB would have far more sophisticated ways of
killing someone.
Chris 

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at agni.phys.iit.edu on behalf of Otto G. Raabe
Sent: Sat 9/10/2011 7:38 PM
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
Subject: [ RadSafe ] Polonium-210 poisoning
 
September 10, 2011

At London's Millenium Hotel on November 1, 2006, Alexander 
Litvinenko, a Russian defector, was poisoned  with tea containing a 
large amount of polonium-210. He fell ill that very day and died 
after a long hospitalization on November 23. He told investigators 
that he had met with two former KGB agents early on the day he fell ill.

That event reminded me of an old black-and-white movie that I saw in 
1950, and I recently rented it from Netflix. Well, the similarity of 
that story was surprising, especially since that story was written so 
early in the atomic age.

That 1950 movie was named "D.O.A", starring Edmond O'Brien.

While on vacation in San Francisco, an accountant named Frank Bigelow 
is purposely poisoned at a bar with a "slow-acting" poison which the 
doctors called a "luminous poison".  In the movie, the physicians 
detected the poison in the victim's blood using a blood sample mixed 
in a test tube with a scintillation solution and observed the tube 
glowing in the dark. This glowing tube is shown in the movie. The 
doctors reported extensive blood cell damage and told Bigelow that 
his condition was terminal. He had only a few days or weeks to live. 
They said they could have pumped his stomach if he had come in soon 
after he was poisoned, but he did not know that he was poisoned. The 
doctors said that there was no antidote for this "luminous" poison.

Well the story is about how Bigelow searches for the attacker, and it 
is quite interesting especially with all the old scenes in San Francisco.

Otto


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