“Bastards got me”
CNN:
Polonium-210 — the radioactive substance used to poison a former Russian spy in London — is one of the world’s rarest elements, first discovered in the 19th century by scientists Marie and Pierre Curie.
It is highly lethal when ingested, and extremely hard to detect, experts said.
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Polonium is so exceedingly rare that only about 100 grams is believed to be produced each year, said Dr. Mike Keir, a radiation protection adviser at Royal Victoria Infirmary.
“Only a very, very small amount of this would need to be ingested to kill,” Keir said. “Unless you can remove the material, there’s very little you can do except treat the symptoms.”
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“Trying to identify the exact agent that was making him sick was like looking for a needle in a haystack,” said Dr. Alistair Hay, a professor of environmental toxicology at Leeds University.
Russians did it: Polonium is very hard to get, and the Russian secret service is the only considered party capable of that.
Russians did not do it: Polonium is so hard to get, that the Russian secret service would be seen as the obvious culprit, and the move would be suicidal from a diplomatic perspective. Or would it?
Speaking at a summit of European leaders in Helsinki, Finland, Mr. Putin said that ?the death of a man is always a tragedy,? but said there was no evidence that it was ?a violent death.?
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