Post by blackfeather on Jul 1, 2018 17:08:51 GMT
This appears to have been what happened to Litvinenko, and there may be those who know how to link the dose of polonium-210 to deliver a particular outcome, but they used too much, perhaps a milligram or more.
Polonium-209 is available from Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the cost of about $3200 per microcurie.
The quantity of polonium-210 that the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regards as dangerous if uncontrolled is 60 GBq (1.6 Ci) or 0.3 milligrams
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regards as dangerous if uncontrolled is 60 GBq (1.6 Ci) or 0.3 milligrams
So from the above information,
if .3mg= 1.6 ci (ci= curies) then 1 mg = ?ci
.3 1
- x -
1.6 X
using cross multiplication 1.6*1=1.6/.3=5.333 so 1 mg=5.333 ci
Now to get to micro curies
1 millicurie = 1000 microcuries so 5.333 *1000= 5,333, microcuries so multipy 5,333*$3200= $17,065,600 so 1mg=17 million dollars.
Alexander Litvinenko died in 2006, the one article claimed 1 milligram, assuming inflation, the cost to kill him with 1 milligram of polonium was over 10 million dollars. Wikipedia says it was 10 micro grams, so it still would have cost somewhere between 100,000 and 170,000 either way it was rather expensive method of killing a crook. You'd have thought a bullet would have been cheaper. That brings us to the question is this whole assassination story even true?
Why would Russia use a very rare, very expensive, and easily traceable radioactive substance to kill him instead of some cheap poison or just shooting him? Why risk smuggling radioactive material into the UK which is an act of war? And why poison someone on the same day Britain signed an accord to make it easier for Russia to extradite high profile criminals?....
The only way to obtain such a quantity would be on a well organized black market that had a connection to a nuclear facility. It would certainly help organized crime if the nuclear powered supplier they received the Polonium from was not subjected to international inspections or part of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty.
The only way to obtain such a quantity would be on a well organized black market that had a connection to a nuclear facility. It would certainly help organized crime if the nuclear powered supplier they received the Polonium from was not subjected to international inspections or part of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty.
Now the article claims that this Litvinenko was involved in a smuggling operation gone bad, not sure if this is correct but the question is polonium seems to be a very expensive and messy way to kill someone, if your going to do it messy anyway a slit throat or a bullet to the head would be far cheaper. So maybe there is something to the smuggling claim since he and his boss were both exiled Russian mafia and his death bed written accusations could be easily forged by such players. Food for thought.
