Exotic ways to die.

[sobrique]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6182804.stm

Recent case in the news. Ex-spy, gets poisoned.
With some stuff called 'polonium-210' which is a toxic radioactive isotope.

According to Wikipedia Polonium is really very rare, of the kind where in all the reactors in the world, 100grams is produced each year. That particular isotope has a 138 day half-life. It's an alpha emitter, and it glows blue.

Now is it just me who finds this an extremely strange choice of way to get someone dead? I mean, it's "highly radioactive and difficult to handle" Not to mention exceedingly rare, and ... well not exactly very subtle as a poison. I mean, blue and glowing, you _can_ hide, but ... well, what's wrong with cyanide?

Assuming it actually _was_ a poisoning attempt, it strikes me that it's almost as if someone's read too many James Bond books, and is going for a hideously complicated and difficult way of killing someone.

There's so many ways to kill someone that don't involve:
a) A nuclear research lab - this stuff isn't commonplace. There's probably only a few places in the world it could have come from.
b) something that'll make geiger counters ping.
c) doesn't glow blue
d) isn't frighteningly difficult to handle.
e) isn't phenomenally expensive, due to it's rarity.

OK, so you do only have to feed someone 0.12 micrograms to kill them, but ... well, a 9mm cerebral haemorrhage is probably a lot more effective.

Sadly Alexander Litvinenko is now dead from polonium-210 poisoning, but I can't help but wonder what the hell that was all about.

Comments

[xarrion.livejournal.com]

There's always the possibility that, with it being so rare, the assassin(s) were betting on no-one being able to tell what it was, and therefore trace it.
The radioactive bit is fine if no-one is looking for radioactive material.

[spodula.livejournal.com]

A small amount of it releases a lot of radiation (according to the wikipedia article, 1mg emits as many alpha particles as 5000x as much Radium)

Handling is not a problem as long as its covered. Alpha particles can be blocked by something as flimsy as a paper bag, and its not a gamma ray emitter.

Also, the half life means that if he hadnt made such a fuss and had been buried, his exact cause of death would have been undetectable after a few years, as the majority of it would have decayed.

So in summary, you only need a very tiny amount of the stuff,
It would get into your digestive system which of course has a really good blood supply or "really efficient Way of spreading radioactive death all around your body", so when its in your system, your screwed.

[spodula.livejournal.com]

Addendum, apparently handling is an issue, but its ok once its been packaged.
And of course, once its ingested, your screwed.

The figure 250 Billion times as toxic as Cyanide does stand out however.

[mister-jack.livejournal.com]

It's basically untraceable; it's totally irreversable after administration and, crucially, there is a delay period between administration and first symptoms that makes tracing the culprit much, much more difficult.

[sobrique.livejournal.com]

Hmm, a delay period makes a lot of sense. Poisoning someone and being able to make a getaway before their even aware (and so meaning that it's very hard to backtrack, even if there is things like camera footage) would be useful.

I was thinking in terms of if you've been poisoned with something fast and readily available then ... well, who are you going to tell. But then again, you might be able to do this in a public place, and, as you say, be untraceable.

Apart from the 'rare radioactive isotope' bit of course.

[ash1977law.livejournal.com]

Expect to see more of this occouring - weither as Assasins get better at doing it or hear about it and think 'great' (better than frozen aids blood bullets or ice bullets for untraceability) or as medical staff get better at noticing it

[malal.livejournal.com]

Blood & ice bullets don't work. The explosion heat melts them, so you get a puff of smoke basically.

Mythbusters is a great, great show. :-)

[myki.livejournal.com]

So you're saying we'll be an ice crossbow?

[ash1977law.livejournal.com]

You don't use standard guns on them, you just need to accelerate them really damn fast

[fearmeforiampink]

I briefly thought "magnetic acceleration" though I then realised that requires a metal bullet. Or possibly some spring related system.

[ihilate.livejournal.com]

Or an exceptionally strong magnet...

[ash1977law.livejournal.com]

I figured it was someone from his past 'sending a message'

[malal.livejournal.com]

With cyanide, or any more common poison, it's far more likely to be diagnosed earlier, maybe even in time to save them.

[crashbarrier.livejournal.com]

Given that Polonium is very very rare then its an expensive death...

For all the things in life money can't buy: mastercard

[ash1977law.livejournal.com]

Well, that depends on your point of view

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

See, I think he went somewhere this stuff was being produced in the course of research or something, and somebody made up the story about him having been poisoned to cover up that he'd been (or been taken) to this place he probably shouldn't have been.

That or he was implicated in the mind of the assassin as being responsible for somebody else's death from radiation sickness, and they wanted him to know just how it feels...

[malal.livejournal.com]

It was probably the toxic effects that did him in before the radiation. Either uranium or plutonium is the most toxic substance known to mankind, quite aside from their radiation properties (I just can't remember which).

[ihilate.livejournal.com]

Debatable. Plutonium is about as toxic as caffeine, and uranium is about as toxic as lead. The myths of extreme plutonium and uranium toxicity arise because people often fail to distinguish between their chemical and radiological effects.

As I understand is, Polonium is very toxic (I believe it's comparable with arsenic), although I have to admit I know less about polonium than I do about plutonium or uranium. However, the effects on Litvinenko are certainly consistent with radiation exposure, and as you'd need less than a gram to get those effects, and as they'd manifest pretty quickly, my money would be on the radiation.

[malal.livejournal.com]

I stand corrected! I bow to your expertise & superior knowledge then. :-)

Darn it, I remember being told about the uranium / plutonium by a vaguely authoritative source (like an old science teacher or the news or something). Bloody wish they'd get their facts straight sometimes.

Oh well, that's one urban legend that I won't be spreading anymore. :-/

[ihilate.livejournal.com]

FEAR my expertise and superior knowledge! It was probably the news that got you, science teachers should really know better.

I'm going back to my box now, it's going to be another 30 years before something comes along that I'm qualified to talk about.

Unless they do start building new nuclear power plants...

[wilphe.livejournal.com]

This would not be the first time that a Eastern block disident has been killed in an overly complicated way:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella_Murder


I think there was an element of competition involved during the Cold War, I cite the various ways people have tried to kill Fidel Castro:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/638_Ways_to_Kill_Castro


Not only were they competing to put men on the moon, they were also competing to come up with new and innovative methods of assassination.