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Polonium-210 (210 Po, Po-210, historically radium F) is an isotope of polonium. It undergoes alpha decay to stable 206 Pb with a half-life of 138.376 days (about 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 months), the longest half-life of all naturally occurring polonium isotopes ( 210–218 Po). [ 1 ]
Polonium-210 in tobacco contributes to many of the cases of lung cancer worldwide. Most of this polonium is derived from lead-210 deposited on tobacco leaves from the atmosphere; the lead-210 is a product of radon-222 gas, much of which appears to originate from the decay of radium-226 from fertilizers applied to the tobacco soils.
As production of polonium-210 was discontinued in most countries in late 2000s, all of the world's legal polonium-210 (210 Po) production occurs in Russia in RBMK reactors. [ 29 ] [ 101 ] [ 102 ] A Moscow Times article claimed Russia produces about 85 grams (450,000 Ci) annually, [ 103 ] but this was disputed by Russian nuclear physicist Radiy ...
The powerful alpha emitter polonium-210 (a milligram of 210 Po emits as many alpha particles per second as 4.215 grams of 226 Ra) is suspected of playing a role in lung cancer and bladder cancer related to tobacco smoking. [16] 210 Po was used to kill Russian dissident and ex-FSB officer Alexander V. Litvinenko in 2006. [17]
Polonium is dangerous as an alpha particle emitter. If ingested, polonium-210 is a million times as toxic as hydrogen cyanide by weight; it has been used as a murder weapon in the past, most famously to kill Alexander Litvinenko. [2] Polonium poisoning can cause nausea, vomiting, anorexia, and lymphopenia.
There are 42 isotopes of polonium (84 Po). They range in size from 186 to 227 nucleons. They are all radioactive. 210 Po with a half-life of 138.376 days has the longest half-life of any naturally-occurring isotope of polonium and is the most common isotope of polonium. It is also the most easily synthesized polonium isotope.
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The release of the highly dangerous radioactive isotope polonium-210, which had been covered up at the time, was not factored into government reports until 1983, when it was estimated that the fallout had caused 33 cancer fatalities in the long-term. [71] These deaths were attributed not only to thyroid cancer, but also to lung cancer. [72]