Sohrab Ahmari has this article in the WSJ:
"It has been described as one of the most dangerous post-mortem examinations ever undertaken in the Western world, and I think that's probably right."A scientist talking to other scientists would have said 1.66 x 1014 emissions per second, but you have to dumb it down for lawyers.* Emissions per second is actually a poor way to express radiation exposure. Better ways involve rads, rems, or grays.
So testified forensic pathologist Nathaniel Cary on Wednesday, the second day of the inquiry into the 2006 poisoning death of Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko. The proceeding, held at the Royal Courts of Justice, aims to examine the circumstances under which Litvinenko was murdered with radioactive polonium-210, a highly unusual poison and one of many Hollywood-ready elements of the case that has made it a tabloid fixture for nearly a decade.* * *The details of the case largely are more prosaic, when they're not confusing for a lay audience. The top-secret Scientist A1 was there to tell the inquiry that "one gram of polonium-210 emits one-six-six, zero-zero-zero, zero-zero-zero, zero-zero-zero, zero-zero-zero alpha particles per sec--"
"Pausing right there," an exasperated barrister interrupted, inadvertently triggering laughter in the courtroom and the press annex. "I may be wrong, but 166 quadrillion per second?"
If that was really all he was there to testify to, bringing in a
top-secret scientist and clearing the room was overly dramatic. Any
competent nuclear chemist could testify to the emission rate of an
isotope. More important was the testimony of the pathologist.
Polonium was discovered by Marie Skłodowska Curie and named for her native land.
* Lawyer Me is seriously p.o.'d at Scientist Me for saying that. That's my Rob Lowe impression for today.
But of course there won't be any justice. The murderers are safely back in Russia.
Dr. Cary, the pathologist, described the horrors of polonium poisoning. "It gets into your body . . . ," he said, "it's distributed round your body; any cell next door to where it's distributed is badly affected by the continuous bombardment of alpha rays." Soon after Litvinenko drank the poisoned tea his body ceased producing the white blood cells responsible for fighting infections and tissue damage. Eventually he suffered complete organ failure.* * *The independent inquiry is an effort to provide the comprehensive airing of facts that a criminal trial ordinarily would have done, had the defendants in this case been available to participate in one. Though intended to be painstakingly fair, it will be largely symbolic. And it will help bring closure to Marina, who has been relentless in seeking justice for her late husband.
Polonium was discovered by Marie Skłodowska Curie and named for her native land.
* Lawyer Me is seriously p.o.'d at Scientist Me for saying that. That's my Rob Lowe impression for today.
This case also points up why all radiation is not created equal. If given the choice, I'd eat a gamma cookie over an alpha cookie any day of the week.