I keep thinking about this Alexander Litvinenko character who, as the media reports, was mortally radiolyzed.  Irrespective of the intent of the bad guys, the effect of it may go far beyond the mans unfortunate death.  It is a kind of vignetted picture of what terror with radioactive materials might look like. 

In a quiet location, a lab perhaps, or a public storage shed, the bad guys had to formulate some kind of potion, some kind of concentrate that could be added to Litvinenko’s food or drink without alerting him to the change.  And I think it is reasonable to assume that the perpetrators are not “suicide poisoners”, so they would have to do the deed without contaminating themselves. So either the poison was prepared in the field by the perpetrators, or it was prepared in advance by others elsewhere.  It might even be that the person(s) who administrated the poison were unaware that it was a radiological hazard.

Because Po-210 only emits alpha’s, in principle a hermetically sealed container with a small quantity could be moved past radiation detectors at ports of entry without triggering alarms made to detect gamma radiation. This assumes that the polonium is highly pure. Trace contaminants that are gamma emitters could be detectable.  And because Po-210  as the pure nuclide is a strict alpha emitter, it’s shielding requirements would be minimal.  This nuclide seems well suited for villany.   

On the plus side to this scary scenario is the short half-life of Po-210.  Admittedy, this offers scant comfort for those who might ingest or inhale the material.  But, by comparison with gamma radiation where heavy shielding and/or a goodly distance from the source is needed, the short half-life of Po-210 and the poor penetrating ability of alpha particles makes remediation a little easier, at least in principle.  Inhalation and ingestion are the main exposure problems with alpha emitters.

It will be interesting to see if the Chicken Littles in congress will rush back to the hen house extrapolating furiously (flapping and clucking noises) about this “new threat” to homeland security.  Lordy.   Let’s hope they don’t screw up things too badly for legitimate users of radioactive materials.

It is hard to say just how widespread radiological crimes could become.  Because of the short 138 day half-life of Po-210, an accumulated stockpile would rapidly dilute with Pb-206. This event may result in a tightening of the supply of such materials.  My guess is that terrorists will look to other rad materials for their maleavolent designs. The Litvinenko murder has the appearance of an assasination by an organization that actually has a mailing address.