A former Russian spy died from radiation sickness in 2006 after dining at a Lond

Question

A former Russian spy died from radiation sickness in 2006 after dining at a London restaurant where he apparently ingested polonium-210. The other people at his table did not suffer from radiation sickness. What are possible reasons as to why they did not? Choose all reasonable answers. ^210Po was only in the spy's food. ^210Po is an alpha emitter and has to remain inside the body long enough to decay to become dangerous. The other diners were not sensitive to ^210Po. ^210Po is a solid, so it could not be inhaled. ^210Po must be absorbed through the skin and the other diners did not touch anything containing ^210Po. ^210Po is a beta emitter and has to remain inside the body long enough to decay to become dangerous. In 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set a maximum radon level for drinking water at 4.0 pCi per milliliter. a. How many disintegrations occur per second in a milliliter of water for this level of radon radioactivity? b. If the above radioactivity were due to decay of ^222Rn (t_1/2 = 3.8 days), how many ^222Rn atoms would there be in 4.0 mL of water?

Explanation / Answer

* 210 Po was only in the spy's food

* 1 PCi = 2 disintegrations per minute = 120 disintegrations per second

then, 4 PCi = 480 disintegrations per second

*

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