Polonium

Precautions

Polonium is a highly radioactive and toxic element and is dangerous to handle.

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Even milligram or microgram amounts, handling polonium-210 is very dangerous and requires special equipment used with strict procedures. Direct damage occurs from energy absorption into tissues from alpha particles.

Related Topics:
Milligram - Microgram

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The maximum allowable body burden for ingested polonium is only 1100 becquerels (0.03 microcurie), which is equivalent to a particle weighing only 6.8 x 10-12 gram. Weight for weight polonium is approximately 2.5 x 1011 times as toxic as hydrocyanic acid. The maximum permissible concentration for airborne soluble polonium compounds is about 7,500 Bq/m³ (2 x 10-11 µCi/cm3).

Related Topics:
Becquerels - Hydrocyanic acid

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