Ex-spy's poison on the Internet; $69 can get you a trace

[Newsjock]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/28/POLONIUM.TMP

Keay Davidson, Chronicle Science Writer
Tuesday, November 28, 2006

It's one of the deadliest imaginable poisons, a radioactive substance about 100 billion times as deadly as cyanide -- and a Web site run by a physicist and flying saucer enthusiast offers to sell you a trace amount of it for $69 and send it via the U.S. Postal Service or UPS.

Contrary to early news reports, polonium-210 -- the poison suspected in the death of an ex-Russian spy in England -- is not some exotic material available solely from nuclear laboratories. The isotope is available from firms that sell it for lawful and legitimate uses in industry, such as removing static electricity from machinery and photographic film.

... In the United States, it is legal for vendors licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to sell small amounts of polonium-210 and other radioactive sources without the buyers having to receive special permission from the government.

United Nuclear Scientific Equipment & Supplies of Sandia Park, N.M., will sell you a small amount of polonium-210 for $69 in a small, yellow, disk-shaped container. The firm offers a long list of available radioactive sources on its commercial Web site -- which includes buttons marked, "Add to Cart" next to items for purchase.

[Kagemusha]

1. Let me guess, this'll spark a USPS controversy.

Because people will ask what the hell its policies on mailing radioactive material is.

[AlienGirl]

2. I bought uranium online in October for my son's 11th birthday

Got the uranium and a Geiger counter on eBay and had it shipped directly to Alien Spawn.

Tucker

[truthisfreedom]

3. it's an alpha-particle emitter... that type of radiation is stopped by a piece of paper.

in larger quantities it would poison a human just by being so close to an unshielded source, but there are so many other ways to kill a person that it really is silly to worry about this as some sort of terror risk. anyone attempting to purchase a large enough quantity to cause trouble would certainly trigger an investigation.

[Richard Steele]

4. Yup. Smoke detectors are a bigger radiation hazard. This is no biggie. nm

[Irreverend IX]

6. If paper stops it...

Won't human skin stop it too? So you might get skin cancers, but no damage to internal organs unless it's ingested. And I don't suppose it can penetrate clothes either.

[truthisfreedom]

7. it's ONLY dangerous if you ingest it. it's a poison... there are certainly lots of those,

and many of them are far cheaper and more easily obtained without being traced by the government. cyanide, strychnine, arsenic... the list is quite long. polonium was probably chosen to make it 1] difficult to trace and treat, and 2] long, painful, and drawn-out to make a point to the victim, 3] exotic to get him more publicity, to send a message to others of his ilk.

[AngryAmish]

24. Dead skin cells on surface stop it

Or so I heard. I am not a radiation expert.

[Up2Late]

9. Yeah, except all it takes is ingesting 1mg of this stuff...

...for a deadly dose, which is the amount they suspect killed the former Russian Spy. Or if you breath a speck of this stuff into you lungs, you'll be just as dead in a few days.

Polonium 210 and the Litvinenko Case

Listen to this story...(at link)

All Things Considered, November 27, 2006 · Robert Siegel talks with John Emsley, author of The Elements of Murder: A History of Poison, about the poisoning of Russian-spy-turned-Kremlin-critic Alexander Litvinenko. Litvinenko died last Thursday after being poisoned with radioactive Polonium-210.

Emsley is a former science writer-in-residence for the University of Cambridge.

<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6545243>

[MGD]

13. I think theLD50 (lethal dose, 50% of the time) is closer to a billionth of a gram actually

that's even more reassuring, huh?

[grizmaster]

15. heard on NPR last night that the tiniest fraction of a grain

is deadly.

[Up2Late]

18. LOL! That is such a funny graphic!

I don't know which is better, the pun or the picture?:rofl:

[grizmaster]

20. for your enjoyment

here's the full-sized version If you want to copy it

[IndianaGreen]

22. Put it on a bomb. Explode the bomb in a big city with lots of high rise office buildings

the glass in the high rises will shatter by the explosion cutting all of the people below. The Polonium will enter the bodies of the victims through their open cuts and bruises. Voila! You got yourself a dirty bomb!

[Irreverend IX]

5. If you want to off someone, there are much less convoluted options...

This is hardly worth making a fuss about.

[jordi_fanclub]

8. In ALPHAbetical mail order...

"...it's an alpha-particle emitter... that type of radiation is stopped by a piece of paper."


Yeah, of course... completely "safe"! BTW, and what about:
The BETA emitter Strontium90 at $69 a piece?
or a GAMMA emitter Cesium137 at $69 a piece?

Better yet, a "perfect" Christmas gift...
An ALPHA, BETA and GAMMA "kit" at $175 each?
A "collectible" which includes Polonium210, Strontium90, Cobalt60.

Welcome to the "gift" shop of SANDIA Park: http://www.unitednuclear.com/isotopes.htm
Ah... and they state that in BUSH*t America: No NRC license required!
"All our radioactive isotopes are legal to purchase & own by the general public."

[MadHound]

10. Run! Flee! They're selling nuclear isotopes over the 'net!

Geez:eyes: Yes, you can get small amounts of alpha, beta, and gamma emmiters over the 'net. There are actually legitimate uses for them in various labs. Yes, alpha and beta emitters are perfectly safe, so long as you don't ingest or inhale them. The gamma emitters are very low dose. Look at the amount that they're selling. One(1) micro currie. Oooo be scared, be very scared. You would have to hang out with one of these a long time in order to receive a dangerous dose. Oh, and for your information, if you purchase one of these, your name, address, and various other information will be noted and sent along to the NRC and DOE as a routine part of shipping this to you.

Sorry, but there are legit needs for these small amounts, in everything from archeology to insuring the accuracy of various sorts of geiger counters. Please, use your head and stop reacting in such a hysterical manner. Depending on where you live, you're probably passed by a FedEx, DHL, or some other commercial vehicle containing a much larger dose. Ooo, and don't forget, your fire alarm contains a radioactive source too! Be afraid, be very afraid:eyes:

[MrPrax]

11. That site has tons of kewl stuff...

especially for kid's science projects. They sell a bunch of 'projects' straight out of the box.

It's funny, the public is afraid of nuclear elements, but on their site, the biggest warnings are set aside -- NOT for any of the firework making chemicals, not the cesium 137 -- nope the most dangerous thing they sell, according to them, is ... magnets!!!!

(On a personal note; I've been posting this bit of ultimately irrelevent info here for a couple of days...so I feel I should toot my own horn!! Mind you, scooping the MSM is not much of an effort these days ;-)

Super Magnets

THESE ARE ABSOLUTELY NOT TOYS AND CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS! KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN! - THESE CAN EASILY CRUSH FINGERS! WE CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR INJURY OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY THESE POWERFUL MAGNETS.

If you really need unbelievably powerful magnets, here they are.
Uses include magnetic steering of nuclear particles in accelerators, levitation devices, magnetic beam amplifiers, scrap iron separators, etc.

Beware - you must think ahead when moving these magnets.

If carrying one into another room, carefully plan the route you will be taking. Computers & monitors will be affected in an entire room. Loose metallic objects and other magnets may become airborne and fly considerable distances - and at great speed - to attach themselves to this magnet. If you get caught in between the two, you can get injured.

Two of these magnets close together can create an almost unbelievable magnetic field that can be very dangerous. Of all the unique items we offer for sale, we consider these items the most dangerous of all.

Our normal packing & shipping personnel refuse to package these magnets - our engineers have to do it. This is no joke and we cannot stress it strongly enough - that you must be extremely careful - and know what you're doing with these magnets.

Take Note: Two Super magnets can very easily get out of control and break fingers and even your arm if opposing poles fly at each other. If working with multiple Supermagnets, always handle one magnet at a time, secure it, then proceed to the next magnet. United Nuclear

So be warned if you buy their super magnets!!! (It's reads almost like a dare, similar to the ad copy on old AIP! movie! posters!!)

(actually on the bottom of the page is a kit for a levitating magnet science kit project -- looks neat and probably perfect for a 'responsible' kid)

BTW welcome to DU

:hi:

[smirkymonkey]

14. Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.

:nuke:

[Up2Late]

17. Wow! Sounds like you could kiss you Video and Audio tape collections good-bye...

...if you bought one of those magnets. I wonder how close you would have to get one of these to erase that incriminating video tape someone's boss might have in his office?

[daleo]

21. These super magnets go through the mail?

How do you get them out of your mailbox, if it is made of steel?

I noted that you scooped the media on this mail-order Polonium business too.

[MrPrax]

23. It's funny!!

That's why I posted it -- I noticed that too. I also had the same thoughts as an above poster -- once you get it, then what...if it is that powerful!!

Something so dangerous that the 'engineers' have to pack it...but they send it UPS ground?

--BTW I was being facetious...I don't think anybody can scoop anyone on the internet. I think I saw that little observation in a slashdot forum from the weekend about this poisoning. I go there as well for industry type news. They got a boat load of nerds and science geeks over there analyzing these various theories. It's a great site for that type of thing.

This site of course is great for American politics. The posters here are generally more honest and better informed than other American political sites, albeit partisan.

[NuttyFluffers]

26. far too cool! wonder if you can make a scary ordinance weapon with that...

just a bunch of these "ball bearings" around a missile head, have a large central magnet to "recall" the scattered "ball bearings" after detonation. it'd be shrapnel that'd boomerang back out of the wound, or attract further metal shrapnel onto targets, AND screw up surrounding electronics.

i wonder if a smart kid can make a proto-rail gun with these. kinda like a potato gun for the evil genius set. ooh, and booby traps! or like those magnetic mixing tablets in the better chem labs, get a few of these magnets and make a standing whirlpool inside someone's swimming pool!
:D

now i totally know what i want for ConsumerMas!
:evilgrin:
but how to use this power for good?... and do i even want to try?
:dilemma:

[davepc]

19. Whatever you do, don't go near the Smoke Detector aisle in Home Depot

Do you have any idea of the RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL they're SELLING to the PUBLIC WITHOUT A LISENCE!!!!!

CHILDREN CAN GET THEIR HANDS ON THIS DEADLY *****NUCLEAR***** MATERAIAL!!!!!! AND MOUNT THEM PEMINATLY IN THEIR HOMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THESE DEVICES HAVE DEADLY ALPHA AND GAMMMA ENERGY RAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ONLY IN BUSH*T (and Clinton, Bush, Regan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman) America!!!!!!!!

[AngryAmish]

25. Or a Coleman lantern!!!!

[wuushew]

12. Can't nuclear isotopes be traced to the reactors they were created in?

If so the elimination of a European or American commerical source would not shed a very supportive light on the Russians.

[Politicub]

16. Bizarre!

I had no idea you could buy this stuff through the mail.