Polonium-210

    Summary: A complex mystery surrounding the death of a one-time Russian security agent, Alexander Litvinenko, in November 2006 became the raw material for an international thriller when it was found he was poisoned by a rare radioactive element, polonium-210, the primary source of which is Russia. A leading London newspaper declared he was the victim of "state terror." The mystery deepened when Scotland Yard's anti-terrorism unit, investigating the death, was denied access to Russians deemed by the British to be "of interest" in their investigation, followed by the mutual expulsion of diplomats by Britain and Russia.

    What: A naturally occurring radioactive material, historically called radium F.

    Where: There are minute amounts of Po-210 in the soil and the air, and all humans have a trace amount in their bodies.

    Uses: Various legitimate industrial applications, including satellites and elimination of static electricity in manufacturing processes.

    Availability: Po-210 can be produced by someone with expertise and access to a sophisticated laboratory, or, for legitimate industrial uses, it can be purchased from a licensed supplier.

    Significance: The death of Russian former spy Alexander Litvinenko from Po-210 poisoning raised consciousness of the possibility of the substance falling into the hands of terrorists. The investigation of the poisoning is conducted by Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism unit.

    A rare radioactive element took on a political twist worthy of a spy novel in 2006 when a former Russian espionage agent died in London, evidently after ingesting polonium-210. Speculation soon turned to the prospect that polonium-210, hitherto known principally to nuclear physicists, had become a new tool in politically inspired murders, and the case was handed over to the anti-terrorism unit of Scotland Yard.

    The Times of London declared that Litvinenko was the "victim of state terror."

    After identifying polonium-210 as the cause of death of Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian spy, and because the vast majority of polonium-210 comes from Russia, Scotland Yard's anti-terrorism unit sought to interview Russians who might have had connections to the government. A diplomatic tug-of-war (mutual expulsions of diplomats) between Russia and the United Kingdom ensued.

    Marie Curie discovered polonium-210 in 1898 while researching the source of radioactivity in a sample of pitchblende (a radioactive mineral composed of the mineral uraninite and one of the main mineral ores of uranium, later commercially useful as a source of uranium needed for the production of the atomic bomb). She chose the name to honor her native Poland. The atomic symbol for polonium is Po, and the atomic number is 84.

    Po-210 occurs naturally, in minute quantities, in soil and air. It emits extremely hazardous alpha (positively charged) particles, which carry high amounts of energy that can damage or destroy genetic material in cells. Neither Po-210 nor its radiation is able to penetrate skin; to pose a danger to humans, Po-210 must be inhaled or ingested or possibly enter the body through a wound. A thorough cleansing will remove Po-210 from the skin. Once inside the body, however, Po-210 quickly damages tissues and organs.

    Po-210 is naturally occurring, but acquiring enough of it to kill a person would necessitate having a sophisticated laboratory, the expertise to use it, and access to a nuclear reactor. In a lab, Po-210 can be extracted from rocks that contain uranium, or it can be separated from the substance radium-226.

    Industrial Uses

    Most Po-210 is produced in Russia, and according to Russia's atomic energy agency, RosAtom, all of it goes to the US through RosAtom's lone authorized supplier. A legitimate industrial use of Po-210 would be to eliminate static electricity charges generated by some large machinery. Because of its heat-generating properties, Po-210 is sometimes used in satellites.

    Alexander Litvinenko Poisoning

    Alexander Litvinenko, a former lieutenant colonel of Russia's intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service, was the first confirmed victim of Po-210 poisoning. There have been a handful of other suspected Po-210 deaths, but they were not conclusively proven. One case involved Irene Joliot-Curie, who was exposed when a vial of the substance exploded in her laboratory. She died of leukemia ten years after the event. There were also several suspected cases in an Israeli laboratory in the mid-twentieth century.

    The Litvinenko case, which was assigned to Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism unit, unfolded over three weeks in November 2006:

    Nov. 1: Litvinenko has two meetings in London. The first was with two Russian businessmen, and takes place at a hotel. The second meeting is at a sushi bar with Italian academic Mario Scaramella, who reportedly handed over documents relating to the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

    Nov. 1-2: Within hours of the meetings, Litvinenko experiences violent, frequent vomiting.

    Nov. 4: Litvinenko is admitted to a hospital in London after his third straight day of vomiting and stomach pain.

    Nov. 17: Litvinenko is transferred to University College Hospital, where he is placed under police guard.

    Nov. 19: UCH diagnoses poisoning due to thallium, a toxic chemical.

    Nov. 20-22: Litvinenko is placed in intensive care, and the thallium poisoning diagnosis comes under question and then is ruled out. The Kremlin finds it necessary to release a statement denying that the Russian government orchestrated the poisoning.

    Nov. 23: Litvinenko suffers a heart attack and dies.

    Nov. 24: A statement made by Litvinenko shortly before his death accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of his poisoning. Investigators find traces of radiation at both the hotel and the sushi bar, as well as in his home. They now conclude the death was the result of Po-210 poisoning.

    At a news conference, Putin responded to Litvinenko's statement by calling his death a "tragedy" but insisting there was no proof that the case was anything other than an accidental exposure. In the subsequent weeks, traces of Po-210 contamination were found at several additional sites in London, as well as in two British Airways aircraft. Radiation was also detected at the British Embassy in Moscow. British investigators were denied access to two Russian aircraft that they deemed "of interest" in their investigation.

    A public health panic developed in London as worried citizens inundated Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) with phone calls. Mr. Scaramella returned to London from Italy to undergo testing. He was found to have suffered a significant Po-210 exposure, although he was asymptomatic. By January 2007, HPA reported that 179 people had tested positive for possible contamination. Of special concern were all hospital staff who had come in contact with Litvinenko.

    Scotland Yard shifted gears and began to treat Litvinenko's death as murder rather than an accidental poisoning. It soon became clear that the case would have diplomatic ramifications as well. Months of diplomatic posturing between Britain and Russia ensued, with Britain's government demanding access to suspects in the case and Russia stonewalling.

    At length, the two men who met with Litvinenko at the hotel, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, both described as businessmen and former members of Russia's security service, were questioned by British police. The two denied involvement and insisted they were also victims of radiation contamination. A tense stand-off between the two countries developed as Russia announced its suspicions that Litvinenko was working as a spy for British intelligence and requested permission to send its investigators to London to conduct interviews.

    On July 5, 2007, Russia officially denied Britain's request for extradition of Lugovoi. Britain announced that four Russian embassy personnel in London would be expelled from the country. Russia immediately expelled four British diplomats from Moscow.

    Litvinenko is believed to not be the only victim of poisoning by Po-210 though his case received the most international attention. In 2016, a British inquiry found the Kremlin culpable in Litvinenko’s death. In 2021, the European Court on Human Rights also found the Kremlin responsible in a case brought to the court by Litvinenko’s widow. Po-210 continues to be utilized in industrial settings.

    By the mid-2020s, targeted assaults and assassinations, some employing chemicals, were a standard tactic for the Russian government. These types of events signaled to both an international and domestic audience the consequences of resisting the dictates of Vladimir Putin. Additionally, Putin used these attacks to communicate to global governments that he would not be bound by international borders, or norms, in carrying out these assaults even if they infringed on sovereignty issues.

    In March 2024, the killing of a Russian helicopter pilot named Maksim Kuzminov in Villajoyosa, Spain, demonstrated this point. Kuzminov had defected to Spain in 2023 to avoid participation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine which began in February 2022. A hit squad murdered Kuzminov in shooting him multiple times and striking him with a vehicle. The act demonstrated to Russian war protestors their potential vulnerability even outside of Russia.

    Another notable example of chemical poisoning occurred in 2020 with Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. Navalny fell sick inside of Russia and evacuated to Germany where he survived. Navalny had previously been assaulted by a chemical attack in 2017 and again in 2019. Navalny returned to Russia in 2021 and was imprisoned. He died in Russia while incarcerated in October 2023.

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