POLONIUM-A PERFECT POISON
Through this message, I would like to thank and appreciatethose who replied and asked questions about my tweet (dated November 2, 2019)on POLONIUM POISONING & its effects on human body. I also mentionedabout the reasons of low platelets count. For my dear students and followers, hereis some further brief on this DEADLIEST POISON i.e. Polonium.
As we know that there are 118 known elements ofchemistry. In 1869 a Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev arranged the known 69elements into an organised system known as PERIODIC TABLE. The UnitedNations has named2019 as THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE PERIODICTABLE OF CHEMICAL ELEMENTS.
Now I would like to shed some light on Polonium. Poloniumis a soft silvery grey metallic radioactive chemical element, with the symbol “Po”and atomic number 84. It was discovered by Nobel Laureate’s husbandPierre Curie and his wife Madam Marie Curie in 1898. Polonium was named afterMarie Curie’s homeland of Poland. The main isotopes of Polonium are 208-Po, 209-Poand 210-Po. Here my focus is on 210-Po. The physical half life of 210-Po is 138 days and its biological half life is 40days.
210-Pois one of the most toxic substances known to man. It does not have toxicchemical properties. Danger is when it emits radiation. One gram of 210-Pocould kill 50 Million people. To poison Polonium it has to be passedthrough inhalation, ingestion (swallowing food, drinks etc.) or entry throughwounds.When inhaled causes lung cancer. If swallowed, it concentratesin Red Blood Cells, before spreading to the liver, kidneys, bone marrow, gastrointestinaltract, Cardiovascular System, Central Nervous System, testicles/ovaries.
SYMPTOMS:
Nausea, Vomiting, Anorexia, Hair loss, Diarrhoea.
Damage to bone marrow leads to low White Blood Cells and lowPlatelets. Depend on the dose of exposure to Polonium, if the patient does notrecover, will die within weeks or months. Survivors may take months to recover.
BLOOD:
Blood and its main composition consistof Plasma, Red blood Cells(Erythrocytes), White Blood Cells(Leukocytes) and Platelets (Thrombocytes). Platelets are colourlessblood cells that help the blood clotting process by gathering at the site ofinjury, sticking to the lining of the injured blood vessel and forming aplatform on which blood coagulation can occur by forming a clot.
A normal platelet count ranges from 150,000-450,000microliter (µL) of blood. More than 450,000 µLis called as Thrombocytosis and less than 150,000 µLis known as THROMBOCYTOPENIA. Thrombocytopenia can occur in Leukaemia,immune system problem or can be a side effect of certain medications. Eachplatelet lives only about 10 days. Our body continue to produce Plateletsfrom our bone marrow.
THROMBOTIC THROMBOCYTOPENICPURPURA-TTP (Also called as IdiopathicThrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura) is a blood disorder that results in bloodclots forming in small blood vessels throughout the body. This result in a lowplatelet count, low blood red cells to their breakdown and often kidneys, heartand brain dysfunction.
LOW PLATELET COUNT:
Between 20,000-50,000 µL ofblood-Bleeding when injured
Below 20,000 µL- Bleeding without injury
Below 10,000 µL- Spontaneous bleeding can be severe and a risk to life
TREATMENT:
Corticosteroids--Prednisone
Severe cases--Blood Transfusion
If no increase after 1 year-- Splenectomy
Extremely severe or emergency--Transfusionof Platelets
KNOWN/SUSPICIOUS VICTIMS OFPOLONIUM POISONING:
- 1956-Irene Joliot Curie, a Nobel Laureateand daughter of Madam Curie
- 2004-Yasser Arafat
- 2006-Alexander Litvinenko
- Various peopleworking in radioactive research labs-Cases not reported/accepted officially
210-Polonium gives off Alpha radiation which is undetectableby the usual scans. A DANGEROUS DOSE can be a matter of micrograms,smaller than a speck of a pepper or SIZE OF A DOT AT THE END OF THISSENTENCE → . ←
My dear students and followers,
The mysterious and deteriorating medicalcondition of ANY PERSON exposed to Polonium need some seriousscreening and thorough investigations from globally recognised and reputedradioactive laboratories.
Once again I would like to thank you all forasking questions on POLONIUM POISONING.
May GOD bless you all
Sincerely Yours,
AltafHussain
05th November, 2019