Exotic ways to die.
Nov. 28th, 2006 04:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sobriquehttp://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.
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.
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no subject
Date: 2006-11-30 11:17 pm (UTC)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.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-01 12:35 pm (UTC)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. :-/
no subject
Date: 2006-12-01 08:34 pm (UTC)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...