Polonium - few redeeming features

Polonium will be forever linked with the names Curie and Litvinenko and has negligible desirable features, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 63 of Elemental.

Polonium will be forever linked with the names Curie and Litvinenko and has negligible desirable features.

Polonium (symbol Po and atomic number 84) is a radioactive metal, discovered by the Curies and named after Marie's home country of Poland, in 1898, a period when the country didn't actually exist.

Po210 accumulates in tobacco and as a result cigarettes contain quite high levels of it, says Prof Allan Blackman, in ep 63 of Elemental.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details