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Polonium
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Polonium, 84Po
Polonium.jpg
General properties
Name, symbol
polonium, Po
Appearance
silvery
Allotropes
a,
Pronunciation /p?'lo?ni?m/
po-loh-nee-?m
Polonium in the periodic table
Hydrogen (diatomic nonmetal)
Helium (noble gas)
Lithium (alkali metal)
Beryllium (alkaline earth metal)
Boron (metalloid)
Carbon (polyatomic nonmetal)
Nitrogen (diatomic nonmetal)
Oxygen (diatomic nonmetal)
Fluorine (diatomic nonmetal)
Neon (noble gas)
Sodium (alkali metal)
Magnesium (alkaline earth metal)
Aluminium (post-transition metal)
Silicon (metalloid)
Phosphorus (polyatomic nonmetal)
Sulfur (polyatomic nonmetal)
Chlorine (diatomic nonmetal)
Argon (noble gas)
Potassium (alkali metal)
Calcium (alkaline earth metal)
Scandium (transition metal)
Titanium (transition metal)
Vanadium (transition metal)
Chromium (transition metal)
Manganese (transition metal)
Iron (transition metal)
Cobalt (transition metal)
Nickel (transition metal)
Copper (transition metal)
Zinc (transition metal)
Gallium (post-transition metal)
Germanium (metalloid)
Arsenic (metalloid)
Selenium (polyatomic nonmetal)
Bromine (diatomic nonmetal)
Krypton (noble gas)
Rubidium (alkali metal)
Strontium (alkaline earth metal)
Yttrium (transition metal)
Zirconium (transition metal)
Niobium (transition metal)
Molybdenum (transition metal)
Technetium (transition metal)
Ruthenium (transition metal)
Rhodium (transition metal)
Palladium (transition metal)
Silver (transition metal)

Cadmium (transition metal)

Indium (post-transition metal)
Tin (post-transition metal)
Antimony (metalloid)
Tellurium (metalloid)
Iodine (diatomic nonmetal)
Xenon (noble gas)
Caesium (alkali metal)
Barium (alkaline earth metal)
Lanthanum (lanthanide)
Cerium (lanthanide)
Praseodymium (lanthanide)
Neodymium (lanthanide)
Promethium (lanthanide)
Samarium (lanthanide)
Europium (lanthanide)
Gadolinium (lanthanide)
Terbium (lanthanide)
Dysprosium (lanthanide)
Holmium (lanthanide)
Erbium (lanthanide)
Thulium (lanthanide)
Ytterbium (lanthanide)
Lutetium (lanthanide)
Hafnium (transition metal)
Tantalum (transition metal)
Tungsten (transition metal)
Rhenium (transition metal)
Osmium (transition metal)
Iridium (transition metal)
Platinum (transition metal)
Gold (transition metal)
Mercury (transition metal)
Thallium (post-transition metal)
Lead (post-transition metal)
Bismuth (post-transition metal)
Polonium (post-transition metal)
Astatine (metalloid)
Radon (noble gas)
Francium (alkali metal)
Radium (alkaline earth metal)
Actinium (actinide)
Thorium (actinide)
Protactinium (actinide)
Uranium (actinide)
Neptunium (actinide)
Plutonium (actinide)
Americium (actinide)
Curium (actinide)
Berkelium (actinide)
Californium (actinide)
Einsteinium (actinide)
Fermium (actinide)
Mendelevium (actinide)
Nobelium (actinide)
Lawrencium (actinide)
Rutherfordium (transition metal)
Dubnium (transition metal)
Seaborgium (transition metal)
Bohrium (transition metal)

Hassium (transition metal)

Meitnerium (unknown chemical properties)
Darmstadtium (unknown chemical properties)
Roentgenium (unknown chemical properties)
Copernicium (transition metal)
Ununtrium (unknown chemical properties)
Flerovium (post-transition metal)
Ununpentium (unknown chemical properties)
Livermorium (unknown chemical properties)
Ununseptium (unknown chemical properties)
Ununoctium (unknown chemical properties)
Te
?
Po
?
Lv
bismuth ? polonium ? astatine
Atomic number 84
Standard atomic weight (Ar)
(209)
Element category
post-transition metal, but this status is disputed
Group, block
group 16 (chalcogens), p-block
Period period 6
Electron configuration [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p4
per shell
2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 6
Physical properties
Phase solid
Melting point 527 K ?(254 C, ?489 F)
Boiling point 1235 K ?(962 C, ?1764 F)
Density near r.t.
alpha: 9.196 g/cm3
beta: 9.398 g/cm3
Heat of fusion ca. 13 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporization
102.91 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacity
26.4 J/(molK)
vapor pressure
P (Pa) 1
10
100
1 k
10 k
100 k
at T (K)
(846) 1003
1236
Atomic properties
Oxidation states
6, 5,[1] 4, 2, -2 ?(an amphoteric oxide)
Electronegativity
Pauling scale: 2.0
Ionization energies
1st: 812.1 kJ/mol
Atomic radius empirical: 168 pm
Covalent radius 1404 pm
Van der Waals radius
197 pm
Miscellanea
Crystal structure
?cubic Cubic crystal structure for polonium
a-Po
Crystal structure
?rhombohedral Rhombohedral crystal structure for poloniu
m
-Po
Thermal expansion
23.5 m/(mK) (at 25 C)
Thermal conductivity
20 W/(mK) (?)
Electrical resistivity a: 0.40 Om (at 0 C)
Magnetic ordering
nonmagnetic
CAS Registry Number
7440-08-6
History
Naming after Polonia, Latin for Poland. Homeland of Marie Curie
Discovery
Pierre Curie and Marie Curie (1898)
First isolation Willy Marckwald (1902)
Most stable isotopes

Main article: Isotopes of polonium

iso
NA
half-life
DM
DE (MeV)
DP
208Po syn
2.898 y a
5.215 204Pb
+
1.401 208Bi
209Po syn
(125.23.3) y[2]
a
4.979 205Pb
+
1.893 209Bi
210Po trace 138.376 d
a
5.307 206Pb
view talk edit references
Polonium is a chemical element with symbol Po and atomic number 84, discovered i
n 1898 by Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. A rare and highly radioactive element wi
th no stable isotopes, polonium is chemically similar to bismuth and tellurium,
and it occurs in uranium ores. Applications of polonium are few. They include he
aters in space probes, antistatic devices, and sources of neutrons and alpha par
ticles. Because of its position in the periodic table, polonium is sometimes cla
ssified as a metalloid.[3] Other sources say that on the basis of its properties
and behavior, it is "unambiguously a metal".[4]
Contents [hide]
1 Characteristics
1.1 Isotopes
1.2 Solid state form
1.3 Chemistry
1.3.1 Compounds
2 History
3 Detection
3.1 Gamma counting
3.2 Alpha counting
4 Occurrence and production
4.1 Neutron capture
4.2 Proton capture
5 Applications
6 Biology and toxicity
6.1 Overview
6.2 Acute effects
6.3 Long term (chronic) effects
6.4 Regulatory exposure limits and handling
6.5 Well-known poisoning cases
6.5.1 20th century
6.5.2 21st century
6.6 Treatment
6.7 Detection in biological specimens
7 Commercial products containing polonium
7.1 Occurrence in humans and the biosphere
7.2 Tobacco
7.3 Food
8 See also
9 References
10 Bibliography
11 External links
Characteristics[edit]
Isotopes[edit]
Main article: Isotopes of polonium
Polonium has 33 known isotopes, all of which are radioactive. They have atomic m
asses that range from 188 to 220 u. 210Po (half-life 138.376 days) is the most w
idely available. The longer-lived 209Po (half-life 125.2 3.3 years, longest-live
d of all polonium isotopes)[2] and 208Po (half-life 2.9 years) can be made throu
gh the alpha, proton, or deuteron bombardment of lead or bismuth in a cyclotron.
[5]
210Po is an alpha emitter that has a half-life of 138.4 days; it decays directly

to its stable daughter isotope, 206Pb. A milligram (5 curies) of 210Po emits ab

out as many alpha particles per second as 5 grams of 226Ra.[6] A few curies (1 c
urie equals 37 gigabecquerels, 1 Ci = 37 GBq) of 210Po emit a blue glow which is
caused by excitation of surrounding air.[citation needed]
About one in 100,000 alpha emissions causes an excitation in the nucleus which t
hen results in the emission of a gamma ray with a maximum energy of 803 keV.[7][
8]
Solid state form[edit]
The alpha form of solid polonium.
Polonium is a radioactive element that exists in two metallic allotropes. The al
pha form is the only known example of a simple cubic crystal structure in a sing
le atom basis, with an edge length of 335.2 picometers; the beta form is rhomboh
edral.[9][10][11] The structure of polonium has been characterized by X-ray diff
raction[12][13] and electron diffraction.[14]
210Po (in common with 238Pu) has the ability to become airborne with ease: if a
sample is heated in air to 55 C (131 F), 50% of it is vaporized in 45 hours to for
m diatomic Po2 molecules, even though the melting point of polonium is 254 C (489
F) and its boiling point is 962 C (1,764 F).[15][16][1] More than one hypothesis e
xists for how polonium does this; one suggestion is that small clusters of polon
ium atoms are spalled off by the alpha decay.
Chemistry[edit]
The chemistry of polonium is similar to that of tellurium and bismuth. Polonium
dissolves readily in dilute acids, but is only slightly soluble in alkalis. Polo
nium solutions are first colored in pink by the Po2+ ions, but then rapidly beco
me yellow because alpha radiation from polonium ionizes the solvent and converts
Po2+ into Po4+. This process is accompanied by bubbling and emission of heat an
d light by glassware due to the absorbed alpha particles; as a result, polonium
solutions are volatile and will evaporate within days unless sealed.[17][18]
Compounds[edit]
Polonium has no common compounds, and almost all of its compounds are synthetica
lly created; more than 50 of those are known.[19] The most stable class of polon
ium compounds are polonides, which are prepared by direct reaction of two elemen
ts. Na2Po has the antifluorite structure, the polonides of Ca, Ba, Hg, Pb and la
nthanides form a NaCl lattice, BePo and CdPo have the wurtzite and MgPo the nick
el arsenide structure. Most polonides decompose upon heating to about 600 C, exce
pt for HgPo that decomposes at ~300 C and the lanthanide polonides, which do not
decompose but melt at temperatures above 1000 C. For example, PrPo melts at 1250 C
and TmPo at 2200 C.[20] PbPo is one of the very few naturally occurring polonium
compounds, as polonium alpha decays to form lead.[21]
Polonium hydride (PoH
2) is a volatile liquid at room temperature prone to dissociation.[20] The two o
xides PoO2 and PoO3 are the products of oxidation of polonium.[22]
Halides of the structure PoX2, PoX4 and PoX6 are known. They are soluble in the
corresponding hydrogen halides, i.e., PoClX in HCl, PoBrX in HBr and PoI4 in HI.
[23] Polonium dihalides are formed by direct reaction of the elements or by redu
ction of PoCl4 with SO2 and with PoBr4 with H2S at room temperature. Tetrahalide
s can be obtained by reacting polonium dioxide with HCl, HBr or HI.[24]
Other polonium compounds include acetate, bromate, carbonate, citrate, chromate,
cyanide, formate, hydroxide, nitrate, selenate, monosulfide, sulfate and disulf
ate.[23][25]

Polonium compounds[24][26]
Formula Color m.p. (C)
Sublimation
temp. (C)
Symmetry
Pearson symbol Space group
b(pm) c(pm) Z
? (g/cm3)
ref
PoO2
pale yellow
500 (dec.)
885
fcc
cF12
563.7 563.7 563.7 4
8.94
[27]
PoCl2 dark red
355
130
orthorhombic
oP3
367
435
450
1
6.47
[28]
PoBr2 purple-brown
270 (dec.)
[29]
PoCl4 yellow 300
200
monoclinic
[28]
PoBr4 red
330 (dec.)
fcc
cF100 Fm3m
560
560
4
[29]
PoI4
black
[30]
Oxides

No

a (pm)

Fm3m

225

Pmmm

47

225

560

PoO
PoO2
PoO3
Hydrides
PoH2
Halides
PoX2, e.g. polonium dichloride, PoCl2
PoX4, e.g. polonium tetrachloride, PoCl4
PoF6 (tentative)
History[edit]
Also tentatively called "radium F", polonium was discovered by Marie and Pierre
Curie in 1898,[31] and was named after Marie Curie's native land of Poland (Lati
n: Polonia).[32][33] Poland at the time was under Russian, German, and Austro-Hu
ngarian partition, and did not exist as an independent country. It was Curie's h
ope that naming the element after her native land would publicize its lack of in
dependence.[34] Polonium may be the first element named to highlight a political
controversy.[34]
This element was the first one discovered by the Curies while they were investig
ating the cause of pitchblende radioactivity. Pitchblende, after removal of the
radioactive elements uranium and thorium, was more radioactive than the uranium
and thorium combined. This spurred the Curies to search for additional radioacti
ve elements. They first separated out polonium from pitchblende in July 1898, an
d five months later, also isolated radium.[17][31][35]
In the United States, polonium was produced as part of the Manhattan Project's D
ayton Project during World War II. It was a critical part of the implosion-type
nuclear weapon design used in the Fat Man bomb on Nagasaki in 1945. Polonium and
beryllium were the key ingredients of the 'urchin' detonator at the center of t
he bomb's spherical plutonium pit.[36] The urchin ignited the nuclear chain reac
tion at the moment of prompt-criticality to ensure the bomb did not fizzle.[36]
Much of the basic physics of polonium was classified until after the war. The fa
ct that it was used as an initiator was classified until the 1960s.[37]
The Atomic Energy Commission and the Manhattan Project funded human experiments
using polonium on five people at the University of Rochester between 1943 and 19
47. The people were administered between 9 and 22 microcuries (330 and 810 kBq)
of polonium to study its excretion.[38][39][40]

Detection[edit]
Emission intensity vs. photon energy for three polonium isotopes.
Gamma counting[edit]
By means of radiometric methods such as gamma spectroscopy (or a method using a
chemical separation followed by an activity measurement with a non-energy-disper
sive counter), it is possible to measure the concentrations of radioisotopes and
to distinguish one from another. In practice, background noise would be present
and depending on the detector, the line width would be larger which would make
it harder to identify and measure the isotope. In biological/medical work it is
common to use the natural 40K present in all tissues/body fluids as a check of t
he equipment and as an internal standard.[41][42]
Alpha counting[edit]
Emission intensity vs. alpha energy for four isotopes, note that the line width
is narrow and the fine details can be seen.
The best way to test for (and measure) many alpha emitters is to use alpha-parti
cle spectroscopy. It is common to place a drop of the test solution on a metal d
isk which is then dried out to give a uniform coating on the disk. This is then
used as the test sample. If the thickness of the layer formed on the disk is too
thick then the lines of the spectrum are broadened; this is because some of the
energy of the alpha particles is lost during their movement through the layer o
f active material. An alternative method is to use internal liquid scintillation
where the sample is mixed with a scintillation cocktail. When the light emitted
is then counted, some machines will record the amount of light energy per radio
active decay event. Due to the imperfections of the liquid scintillation method
(such as a failure of all the photons to be detected, cloudy or coloured samples
can be difficult to count) and the fact that random quenching can reduce the nu
mber of photons generated per radioactive decay, it is possible to get a broaden
ing of the alpha spectra obtained through liquid scintillation. It is likely tha
t these liquid scintillation spectra will be subject to a Gaussian broadening ra
ther than the distortion exhibited when the layer of active material on a disk i
s too thick.[42]
A third energy dispersive method for counting alpha particles is to use a semico
nductor detector.[42]
From left to right the peaks are due to 209Po, 210Po, 239Pu and 241Am. The fact
that isotopes such as 239Pu and 241Am have more than one alpha line indicates th
at the nucleus has the ability to be in different discrete energy levels (like a
molecule can).
Emission intensity vs. alpha energy for four isotopes, note that the line width
is wide and some of the fine details can not be seen. This is for liquid scintil
lation counting where random effects cause a variation in the number of visible
photons generated per alpha decay.
Occurrence and production[edit]
Polonium is a very rare element in nature because of the short half-life of all
its isotopes. 210Po, 214Po, and 218Po appear in the decay chain of 238U; thus po
lonium can be found in uranium ores at about 0.1 mg per metric ton (1 part in 10
10),[43][44] which is approximately 0.2% of the abundance of radium. The amounts
in the Earth's crust are not harmful. Polonium has been found in tobacco smoke
from tobacco leaves grown with phosphate fertilizers.[45][46][47]
Because it is present in such small concentrations, isolation of polonium from n
atural sources is a very tedious process. The largest batch of the element ever
extracted, performed in the first half of the 20th century, contained only 40 Ci
(1.5 TBq) (9 mg) of polonium-210 and was obtained by processing 37 tonnes of re

sidues from radium production.[48] Polonium is now obtained by irradiating bismu

th with high-energy neutrons or protons.[17][49]
Neutron capture[edit]
Synthesis by (n,?) reaction
In 1934, an experiment showed that when natural 209Bi is bombarded with neutrons
, 210Bi is created, which then decays to 210Po via beta-minus decay. The final p
urification is done pyrochemically followed by liquid-liquid extraction techniqu
es.[50] Polonium may now be made in milligram amounts in this procedure which us
es high neutron fluxes found in nuclear reactors.[49] Only about 100 grams are p
roduced each year, practically all of it in Russia, making polonium exceedingly
rare.[51][52]
This process can cause problems in lead-bismuth based liquid metal cooled nuclea
r reactors such as those used in the Soviet Navy's K-27. Measures must be taken
in these reactors to deal with the unwanted possibility of 210Po being released
from the coolant.[53][54]
Proton capture[edit]
Synthesis by (p,n) and (p,2n) reactions
It has been found that the longer-lived isotopes of polonium can be formed by pr
oton bombardment of bismuth using a cyclotron. Other more neutron-rich isotopes
can be formed by the irradiation of platinum with carbon nuclei.[55]
Applications[edit]
Polonium-based sources of alpha particles were produced in the former Soviet Uni
on.[56] Such sources were applied for measuring the thickness of industrial coat
ings via attenuation of alpha radiation.[57]
Because of intense alpha radiation, a one-gram sample of 210Po will spontaneousl
y heat up to above 500 C (932 F) generating about 140 watts of power. Therefore, 2
10Po is used as an atomic heat source to power radioisotope thermoelectric gener
ators via thermoelectric materials.[6][17][58][59] For instance, 210Po heat sour
ces were used in the Lunokhod 1 (1970) and Lunokhod 2 (1973) Moon rovers to keep
their internal components warm during the lunar nights, as well as the Kosmos 8
4 and 90 satellites (1965).[56][60]
The alpha particles emitted by polonium can be converted to neutrons using beryl
lium oxide, at a rate of 93 neutrons per million alpha particles.[58] Thus Po-Be
O mixtures or alloys are used as a neutron source, for example in a neutron trig
ger or initiator for nuclear weapons[17][61] and for inspections of oil wells. A
bout 1500 sources of this type, with an individual activity of 1,850 Ci (68 TBq)
, have been used annually in the Soviet Union.[62]
Polonium was also part of brushes or more complex tools that eliminate static ch
arges in photographic plates, textile mills, paper rolls, sheet plastics, and on
substrates (such as automotive) prior to the application of coatings. Alpha par
ticles emitted by polonium ionize air molecules that neutralize charges on the n
earby surfaces.[63][64] Polonium needs to be replaced in these devices nearly ev
ery year because of its short half-life; it is also highly radioactive and there
fore has been mostly replaced by less dangerous beta particle sources.[6]
Tobacco smoke from cigarettes contains a small amount of polonium isotope 210, w
hich can become deposited inside smokers' airways and deliver radiation directly
to surrounding cells.
The lungs of smokers can be exposed to four times more polonium than those of no
n-smokers and specific parts may get a hundred times more radiation. One study e
stimated that someone smoking one and half packs a day receives the equivalent a
mount of radiation as someone having 300 chest X-rays a year.[65]

Biology and toxicity[edit]

Overview[edit]
Polonium is highly dangerous and has no biological role.[17] By mass, polonium-2
10 is around 250,000 times more toxic than hydrogen cyanide (the LD50 for 210Po
is less than 1 microgram for an average adult (see below) compared with about 25
0 milligrams for hydrogen cyanide[66]). The main hazard is its intense radioacti
vity (as an alpha emitter), which makes it very difficult to handle safely. Even
in microgram amounts, handling 210Po is extremely dangerous, requiring speciali
zed equipment (a negative pressure alpha glove box equipped with high performanc
e filters), adequate monitoring, and strict handling procedures to avoid any con
tamination. Alpha particles emitted by polonium will damage organic tissue easil
y if polonium is ingested, inhaled, or absorbed, although they do not penetrate
the epidermis and hence are not hazardous as long as the alpha particles remain
outside the body. Wearing chemically resistant and "intact" gloves is a mandator
y precaution to avoid transcutaneous diffusion of polonium directly through the
skin. Polonium delivered in concentrated nitric acid can easily diffuse through
inadequate gloves (e.g., latex gloves) or the acid may damage the gloves.[67]
It has been reported that some microbes can methylate polonium by the action of
methylcobalamin.[68][69] This is similar to the way in which mercury, selenium a
nd tellurium are methylated in living things to create organometallic compounds.
Studies investigating the metabolism of polonium-210 in rats have shown that on
ly 0.002 to 0.009% of polonium-210 ingested is excreted as volatile polonium-210
.[70]
Acute effects[edit]
The median lethal dose (LD50) for acute radiation exposure is generally about 4.
5 Sv.[71] The committed effective dose equivalent 210Po is 0.51 Sv/Bq if ingested
, and 2.5 Sv/Bq if inhaled.[72] So a fatal 4.5 Sv dose can be caused by ingesting
8.8 MBq (240 Ci), about 50 nanograms (ng), or inhaling 1.8 MBq (49 Ci), about 10
ng. One gram of 210Po could thus in theory poison 20 million people of whom 10 m
illion would die. The actual toxicity of 210Po is lower than these estimates, be
cause radiation exposure that is spread out over several weeks (the biological h
alf-life of polonium in humans is 30 to 50 days[73]) is somewhat less damaging t
han an instantaneous dose. It has been estimated that a median lethal dose of 21
0Po is 15 megabecquerels (0.41 mCi), or 0.089 micrograms, still an extremely sma
ll amount.[74][75] For comparison, one grain of table salt is about 0.06 mg = 60
g.[3]
Long term (chronic) effects[edit]
In addition to the acute effects, radiation exposure (both internal and external
) carries a long-term risk of death from cancer of 5 10% per Sv.[71] The general p
opulation is exposed to small amounts of polonium as a radon daughter in indoor
air; the isotopes 214Po and 218Po are thought to cause the majority[76] of the e
stimated 15,000 22,000 lung cancer deaths in the US every year that have been attr
ibuted to indoor radon.[77] Tobacco smoking causes additional exposure to poloni
um.[78]
Regulatory exposure limits and handling[edit]
The maximum allowable body burden for ingested 210Po is only 1.1 kBq (30 nCi), w
hich is equivalent to a particle massing only 6.8 picograms. The maximum permiss
ible workplace concentration of airborne 210Po is about 10 Bq/m3 (310-10 Ci/cm3).[
79] The target organs for polonium in humans are the spleen and liver.[80] As th
e spleen (150 g) and the liver (1.3 to 3 kg) are much smaller than the rest of t
he body, if the polonium is concentrated in these vital organs, it is a greater
threat to life than the dose which would be suffered (on average) by the whole b
ody if it were spread evenly throughout the body, in the same way as caesium or
tritium (as T2O).

210Po is widely used in industry, and readily available with little regulation o
r restriction[citation needed]. In the US, a tracking system run by the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission was implemented in 2007 to register purchases of more than
16 curies (590 GBq) of polonium-210 (enough to make up 5,000 lethal doses). The
IAEA "is said to be considering tighter regulations ... There is talk that it m
ight tighten the polonium reporting requirement by a factor of 10, to 1.6 curies
(59 GBq)."[81] As of 2013, this is still the only alpha emitting byproduct mate
rial available, as a NRC Exempt Quantity, which may be held without a radioactiv
e material license.[citation needed]
Polonium and its compounds must be handled in a glove box, which is further encl
osed in another box, maintained at a slightly higher pressure than the glove box
to prevent the radioactive materials from leaking out. Gloves made of natural r
ubber do not provide sufficient protection against the radiation from polonium;
surgical gloves are necessary. Neoprene gloves shield radiation from polonium be
tter than natural rubber.[82]
Well-known poisoning cases[edit]
20th century[edit]
Polonium was administered to humans for experimental purposes from 1943 to 1947;
it was injected into four hospitalised patients, and orally given to a fifth. S
tudies such as this were funded by the Manhattan Project and the AEC, and conduc
ted at the University of Rochester. The objective was to obtain data on human ex
cretion of polonium to correlate with more extensive data from rats. Patients se
lected as subjects were chosen because experimenters wanted persons who had not
been exposed to polonium either through work or accident. All subjects had incur
able diseases. Excretion of polonium was followed, and an autopsy was conducted
at that time on the deceased patient to determine which organs absorbed the polo
nium. Patients' ages ranged from 'early thirties' to 'early forties.' The experi
ments were described in a Studies of polonium metabolism in human subjects, Chap
ter 3 of Biological Studies with Polonium, Radium, and Plutonium, National Nucle
ar Energy Series, Volume VI-3, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1950. Not specified is the
isotope under study, but at the time polonium-210 was the most readily availabl
e polonium isotope. The DoE factsheet submitted for this experiment reported no
follow up on these subjects.[83]
It has also been suggested that Irne Joliot-Curie was the first person to die fro
m the radiation effects of polonium. She was accidentally exposed to polonium in
1946 when a sealed capsule of the element exploded on her laboratory bench. In
1956, she died from leukemia.[84]
According to the 2008 book The Bomb in the Basement, several deaths in Israel du
ring 1957 1969 were caused by 210Po.[85] A leak was discovered at a Weizmann Insti
tute laboratory in 1957. Traces of 210Po were found on the hands of professor Dr
or Sadeh, a physicist who researched radioactive materials. Medical tests indica
ted no harm, but the tests did not include bone marrow. Sadeh died from cancer.
One of his students died of leukemia, and two colleagues died after a few years,
both from cancer. The issue was investigated secretly, and there was never any
formal admission that a connection between the leak and the deaths had existed.[
86]
21st century[edit]
Further information: Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko
The cause of death in the 2006 murder of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko
was determined to be 210Po poisoning.[87][88] According to Prof. Nick Priest of
Middlesex University, an environmental toxicologist and radiation expert, speaki
ng on Sky News on December 2, Litvinenko was probably the first person to die of
the acute a-radiation effects of 210Po.[89]
Abnormally high concentrations of 210Po were detected in July 2012 in clothes an

d personal belongings of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who died on 11 No

vember 2004 of uncertain causes. The spokesman for the Institut de Radiophysique
in Lausanne, Switzerland, where those items were analyzed, stressed that the "c
linical symptoms described in Arafat's medical reports were not consistent with
polonium-210 and that conclusions could not be drawn as to whether the Palestini
an leader was poisoned or not", and that "the only way to confirm the findings w
ould be to exhume Arafat's body to test it for polonium-210."[90] On 27 November
2012 Arafat's body was exhumed and samples were taken for separate analysis by
experts from France, Switzerland and Russia.[91] On 12 October 2013, The Lancet
published the group's finding that high levels of the element were found in Araf
at's blood, urine, and in saliva stains on his clothes and toothbrush.[92] The F
rench tests later found some polonium but stated it was from "natural environmen
tal origin."[93] Following later Russian tests, Vladimir Uiba, the head of the R
ussian Federal Medical and Biological Agency, stated in December 2013 that Arafa
t died of natural causes, and they had no plans to conduct further tests.[93]
Treatment[edit]
It has been suggested that chelation agents such as British Anti-Lewisite (dimer
caprol) can be used to decontaminate humans.[94] In one experiment, rats were gi
ven a fatal dose of 1.45 MBq/kg (8.7 ng/kg) of 210Po; all untreated rats were de
ad after 44 days, but 90% of the rats treated with the chelation agent HOEtTTC r
emained alive after 5 months.[95]
Detection in biological specimens[edit]
Polonium-210 may be quantified in biological specimens by alpha particle spectro
metry to confirm a diagnosis of poisoning in hospitalized patients or to provide
evidence in a medicolegal death investigation. The baseline urinary excretion o
f polonium-210 in healthy persons due to routine exposure to environmental sourc
es is normally in a range of 5 15 mBq/day. Levels in excess of 30 mBq/day are sugg
estive of excessive exposure to the radionuclide.[96]
Commercial products containing polonium[edit]
210Po is manufactured in a nuclear reactor by bombarding 209Bi with neutrons. 10
0 grams are produced each year, almost all in Russia.[97]
210Po is contained in anti-static brushes, which are used in some printing press
es.[98] Some anti-static brushes contain up to 500 microcuries (20 MBq) of 210Po
as a source of charged particles for neutralizing static electricity.[99] In US
A, the devices with no more than 500 Ci (19 MBq) of (sealed) 210Po per unit can b
e bought in any amount under a "general license",[100] which means that a buyer
need not be registered by any authorities.
Tiny amounts of such radioisotopes are sometimes used in the laboratory and for
teaching purposes typically of the order of 4 40 kBq (0.11 1.08 Ci), in the form of sea
led sources, with the polonium deposited on a substrate or in a resin or polymer
matrix are often exempt from licensing by the NRC and similar authorities as they
are not considered hazardous. Small amounts of 210Po are manufactured for sale
to the public in the United States as 'needle sources' for laboratory experiment
ation, and are retailed by scientific supply companies. The polonium is a layer
of plating which in turn is plated with a material such as gold, which allows th
e alpha radiation (used in experiments such as cloud chambers) to pass while pre
venting the polonium from being released and presenting a toxic hazard. Accordin
g to United Nuclear, they typically sell between four and eight sources per year
.[101][102]
Occurrence in humans and the biosphere[edit]
Polonium-210 is widespread in the biosphere, including in human tissues, because
of its position in the uranium-238 decay chain. Natural uranium-238 in the Eart
h's crust decays through a series of solid radioactive intermediates including r
adium-226 to the radioactive gas radon-222, some of which, during its 3.8-day ha

lf-life, diffuses into the atmosphere. There it decays through several more step
s to polonium-210, much of which, during its 138-day half-life, is washed back d
own to the Earth's surface, thus entering the biosphere, before finally decaying
to stable lead-206.[103][104][105]
As early as the 1920s Antoine Lacassagne, using polonium provided by his colleag
ue Marie Curie, showed that the element has a very specific pattern of uptake in
rabbit tissues, with high concentrations particularly in liver, kidney and test
es.[106] More recent evidence suggests that this behavior results from polonium
substituting for sulfur in sulfur-containing amino-acids or related molecules[10
7] and that similar patterns of distribution occur in human tissues.[108] Poloni
um is indeed an element naturally present in all humans, contributing appreciabl
y to natural background dose, with wide geographical and cultural variations, an
d particularly high levels in arctic residents, for example.[109]
Tobacco[edit]
Polonium-210 in tobacco contributes to many of the cases of lung cancer worldwid
e. Most of this polonium is derived from lead-210 deposited on tobacco leaves fr
om the atmosphere; the lead-210 is a product of radon-222 gas, much of which app
ears to originate from the decay of radium-226 from fertilizers applied to the t
obacco soils.[47][110][111][112][113]
The presence of polonium in tobacco smoke has been known since the early 1960s.[
114][115] Some of the world's biggest tobacco firms researched ways to remove th
e substance to no avail over a 40-year period. The results were never published.[47]
Food[edit]
Polonium is also found in the food chain, especially in seafood.[116][117]
See also[edit]
Decay chain
Polonium halo
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Bibliography[edit]
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External links[edit]
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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
1
H
He
2
Li
Be
B
C
N
O
F
Ne
3
Na
Mg
Al
Si
P
S
Cl
Ar
4
K
Ca
Sc
Ti
V
Cr
Mn
Fe
Co
Ni
Cu
Zn
Ga
Ge
As
Se
Br
Kr
5
Rb
Sr
Y
Zr
Nb
Mo
Tc
Ru
Rh
Pd
Ag
Cd
In
Sn
Sb
Te
?I?
Xe
6
Cs
Ba
La
Ce
Pr
Nd
Pm
Sm
Eu
Gd
Tb
Dy
Ho
Er
Tm
Yb
Lu
Hf
Ta
W
Re
Os
Ir
Pt
Au
Hg
Tl
Pb
Bi
Po
At
Rn
7
Fr
Ra
Ac
Th
Pa
U
Np
Pu
Am
Cm
Bk
Cf
Es
Fm
Md
No
Lr
Rf
Db
Sg
Bh
Hs
Mt
Ds
Rg
Cn
113
Fl
115
Lv
117
118
Alkali metal
Alkaline earth metal
Lanthanide
Actinide
Transiti
on metal
Post-?transition metal Metalloid
Polyatomic nonmetal
Diatomic nonmetal
Noble gas
Unknown
chemical
properties
[show] v t e
Chemical elements named after places
[show] v t e
Polonium compounds
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LCCN: sh85104579 GND: 4175077-9 NDL: 00569159
Categories: Chemical elementsElement toxicologyPost-transition metalsChalcogensI
ARC Group 1 carcinogensPoloniumScience and technology in Poland
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