is this the new frontier of terrorism?
A couple of posts back, I speculated on the death of one Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian expatriate living in Great Britain. Well, not too much more is known, (or at least being reported), and speculation still runs rampant.
What is not being said tells us quite a bit. The apparent poison, Polonium, is an element that one of the products of radioactive decay of natural uranium. It is an alpha emitter, meaning that it too, decays by shedding atmic particles, in the form of neutrons and protons bonded together. The substance is said to be lethal in microgram quantities.
The British authorities seem to be making quite a show in re-tracing Mr. Litvinenko's movements, and have found trace amounts of radioactive material in various locations, but what is not being reported is any inquiry into how it was administered. That alone could give some indication of the origin of the material, which is not easy to come by. In recent years, it has been speculated that US production of this material is about 100 grams per year.
This death, while tragic, is not the point here. I have to wonder if this is the new face of terrorism. Right now, not too many facilities worldwide are equipped to isolate and handle this material, it seems that some authoritive body had to be involved, even if by negligence.
Aside from being a harsh critic of the current Russian administration, Mr Litvinenko was also a facilitator of business deals, including some very large energy deals between entities in Russia and the government in Britain.
While this might not get a lot of play here in the US, it will be interesting to see how or if it develops.
What is not being said tells us quite a bit. The apparent poison, Polonium, is an element that one of the products of radioactive decay of natural uranium. It is an alpha emitter, meaning that it too, decays by shedding atmic particles, in the form of neutrons and protons bonded together. The substance is said to be lethal in microgram quantities.
The British authorities seem to be making quite a show in re-tracing Mr. Litvinenko's movements, and have found trace amounts of radioactive material in various locations, but what is not being reported is any inquiry into how it was administered. That alone could give some indication of the origin of the material, which is not easy to come by. In recent years, it has been speculated that US production of this material is about 100 grams per year.
This death, while tragic, is not the point here. I have to wonder if this is the new face of terrorism. Right now, not too many facilities worldwide are equipped to isolate and handle this material, it seems that some authoritive body had to be involved, even if by negligence.
Aside from being a harsh critic of the current Russian administration, Mr Litvinenko was also a facilitator of business deals, including some very large energy deals between entities in Russia and the government in Britain.
While this might not get a lot of play here in the US, it will be interesting to see how or if it develops.
posted by eccentric recluse at 6:57 PM
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