Polonium: History, Uses, and the Litvinenko Poisoning

February 18, 2026

Polonium: History, Uses, and the Litvinenko Poisoning

Think about it. Just a gram of something, and millions gone. We’re not talking science fiction, folks. This is the real deal: Polonium. This thing? A radioactive nightmare. It’s not just some lab weirdo. Nope. It’s a straight-up killer, tied to shady political stuff and proper messed-up history. Wanna know where this wild stuff came from? And why everyone talks about it?

Polonium: A Name Born of Independence

Back in the late 1800s, Poland? Not even a country. Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary had split it up. This young scientist, Marie Skłodowska-Curie, Polish herself, really felt that loss. So, she and Pierre, her husband, found this new element. Didn’t even think twice. Polonium. Straight up, a nod to Poland and its fight for freedom. Seriously, a chemical element named just for politics. Big deal. A deep message from a brilliant scientist. And she found it in a makeshift Paris lab. More like a shed, really.

They started with tons of uranium ore. Sifting, sifting. The raw ore? Way more radioactive than the uranium they pulled out. Something else had to be in there. Months of hard work later, they got it. Polonium. Four hundred times hotter than uranium. Just a speck—0.0001 grams—meant messing with a whole ton of ore. Their equipment was old school. So, the Curies probably had zero clue how deadly this stuff actually was.

The Haunting Nature of Polonium-210

Polonium. Number 84, weight 209. Bad news. And its main form, Polonium-210? Lasts 138 days. Sure, you find tiny bits everywhere – soil, air, even us. It’s mostly from radium breaking down, which comes from uranium. But it’s super rare. Trying to get it out of uranium for cheap? Nope. Too expensive, too hot. So, barely any made.

And another thing: this spooky metal pops up where you’d least expect. Know lichens? Those weird growths on trees and rocks. They suck up Polonium right from the air. Up north, where it’s cold, where these lichens are everywhere, animals like reindeer eat ’em. But also people eat reindeer. And they often end up with more Polonium than most folks on Earth. Natural cycle, yeah. But a quiet, dangerous one.

Unexpected Applications of a Lethal Element

Okay, so it’s rare and super toxic. But Polonium? Gets used for weird stuff anyway. Engineers, they’ve figured out how to use its fast breakdown as a heat source. For power in satellites, even spaceships! One gram. Instantly 500 degrees C. Super efficient for certain hot jobs.

Also, get this: Polonium was a big piece of the first atomic bomb ideas. Nobody really had quantities of pure Polonium before then. But it was obviously powerful. They figured its super-fast decay could be a perfect trigger. Mixed with beryllium, it totally kicked off the very first atomic weapons. Crazy, right?

The Hidden Danger in Your Daily Habit

Most folks, though? They probably meet Polonium without knowing it. In tobacco. Like, cigarettes. Yeah, cigarettes actually have radioactive Polonium in ’em. But here’s the kicker: A 2011 study spilled the beans that cigarette companies? Knew about this radioactive stuff way back in ’59! Kept it secret, obviously. Some smart people think Polonium by itself might be killing a bunch of smokers. Just another silent poison in the mix.

How Polonium-210 Becomes a Cellular Assassin

Look, Polonium-210 is seriously one of the nastiest, most radioactive elements out there. Period. But get this: outside your body, unless it gets into a cut, or you swallow it, it’s actually not that bad. Its tiny particles can’t get through your skin.

Because if even a tiny, tiny bit gets inside you. Swallowed, or soaked through a wound. It turns into a weapon. Inside you. Those powerful alpha particles? They just trash your cells’ DNA. Not just damage. Absolute devastation. Then, real quick, severe sickness and, yeah, death.

Polonium’s Deadly Legacy: The Curious Cases

Polonium’s track record? Full of shady stuff and outright truths. Linked to some seriously big-name deaths.

Irène Joliot-Curie, Marie’s daughter, might’ve been one of the first victims. In 1946, in her lab: a Polonium tube burst. Ten years after, leukemia got her. A lot of folks think that accident was it. A terrible echo of what her mom went through.

And then there’s Yasser Arafat, that former Palestinian leader. Big mystery. After he died, they checked his clothes. Way too much Polonium-210. Some still debate if it was poison, sure, but it sure made his sudden death even creepier. Or maybe his heavy smoking was the culprit, some say. Who knows.

But the wildest, crystal-clear case? Alexander Litvinenko. Straight out of a movie. Ex-KGB, he fled to the UK. Guy just knew too much. Spilled secrets about supposed state hit jobs, then asked for safety in London. Russian intel? They don’t forget, or forgive. November 1, 2006, Litvinenko gets sick. Fast. He put it together quick: met two Russian guys, drank their tea. Doctors checked, thanks to him. Massive Polonium-210 levels in his blood. Dude literally solved his own murder. Dying in bed and doing it.

Alexander Litvinenko died November 23rd. But first, he flat-out accused Vladimir Putin of ordering the hit. Years later, investigations backed him up. No legal action against Putin, though. Ever. A harsh reminder. Some big truths just sit there. No trial. Such a wild story. Getting turned into a TV series! Makes sense.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Polonium-210?

It’s a super radioactive version of Polonium. It shoots out alpha particles, lasts 138 days. Seriously bad news if you get it inside you.

How was Polonium discovered?

Marie and Pierre Curie found it in 1898. Marie named it for her homeland, Poland, which was controlled by outsiders back then. A statement for independence.