Polonium information, including Technical Data, Safety Data and its high purity properties, research, applications and other useful facts are discussed below. Scientific facts such as the atomic structure, ionization energy, abundance on Earth, conductivity and thermal properties are included.
Polonium is a highly reactive silver-gray metal that is very soluble in acid and mildly soluble in alkalis. It is the only metallic element that exits in a simple cubic array with six bonds per atom. Many of its industrial applications involve the ability of the Polonium 210 Isotope to electrically charge ambient air. Statically charged dust particles are neutralized making them easier to remove. This has resulted in uses for Polonium 210, including as anti-static brushes and anti-static fans which can remove fine dust particulate from optical lenses, advanced laboratory weighing equipment, photographic film and in metal rolling and textile mills and in clean room environments. It is used in research as a source of Alfa radiation and has been alloyed with other metals, such as Beryllium, to produce a transferable neutron source. Polonium and its isotopes, such as Polonium 210, is a strong radioactive alpha emitter with no stable isotopes. American Elements therefore does not sell Polonium products. The AE IsotopeT product group contains only non-radioactive (stable) isotopes. Information, applications and properties for Polonium are provided.
In November 2006, it was used as an
apparent assassination tool in the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian dissident and former KGB agent. Previously, Polonium was used in the space programs of both the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States tested it as a thermoelectric power source for satellites. 140 watts of power can be produced per gram of Polonium 210. The U.S.S.R briefly used Polonium to provide heating to its Lunokhod moon rover. During World War II, it was used in the Manhattan project as a triggering device in the Fat Man atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.
Polonium is a Block P, Group 16, Period 6 element. The number of electrons in each of polonium's shells is 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 6 and its electronic configuration is[Xe]6s24f145d106p4. In its elemental formpolonium's CAS number is 7440-08-6. The polonium atom has a radius of 168pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 197pm. Polonium is both toxic and radioactive.
It was discovered in commercially grown tobacco plants after U.S. tobacco growers began using phosphate fertilizers containing uranium bearing calcium phosphate ores which overtime release radon gas. The radon gas in turn caused other radioactive isotopes of Polonium and Lead to deposit on the leaves. The burning of the leaves in the smoking process causes the highly volatile Polonium 210 Isotope to form a gas. Because Polonium 210 is highly soluble (see above), it can then freely move through the body after ingestion. One Harvard medical study in the 1960's claimed that Polonium 210 radioactivity alone was sufficient to make it a contributing cause of lung cancer in smokers. Subsequently, the Surgeon General has said that 90% of tobacco-related lung cancer deaths are a result of radioactivity rather than tar and nicotine poisoning.
Polonium is found in uranium ores. Polonium was first discovered by Madame Marie Curie in 1898 who extracted it from Pitchblende, a then known uranium source. She named it after her birthplace of Poland. Polonium has 12 isotopes. It is now commercially produced by neutron bombardment of bismuth 209 isotopes. Polonium's most stable isotope is Polonium 209 with a half life of 102 years. Polonium 210 has a half life of approximately 138.39 days.
Polonium |
Polonium |
Polonio |
Polônio |
Polonio |
Polonium |
Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of polonium and each of its naturally occurring isotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope.
| Isotope |
Atomic Mass |
% Abundance on Earth |
| Po-206 |
205.98047 |
- |
| Po-207 |
206.98158 |
- |
| Po-208 |
207.98123 |
- |
| Po-209 |
208.982404 (5) |
- |
| Po-210 |
209.98286 |
- |
The following table shows the abundance of polonium present in the human body and in the universe scaled to parts per billion (ppb) by weight and by atom:
| |
Typical Human Body |
Universe |
| by Weight |
No data |
0 |
| by Atom |
No data |
No data |
Safety Data and Biological Role. The safety data for polonium metal, nanoparticles and its compounds can vary widely depending on the form. For potential hazard information, toxicity, and road, sea and air transportation limitations, such as DOT Hazard Class, DOT Number, EU Number, NFPA Health rating and RTECS Class, please see the specific material or compound referenced in the left margin. Polonium compounds have no biological role.
Ionization Energy. The ionization energy for polonium(the least required energy to release a single electron from the atom in it's ground state in the gas phase) is stated in the following table:
| 1st Ionization Energy |
812 kJ mol-1 |
| 2nd Ionization Energy |
kJ mol-1 |
| 3rd Ionization Energy |
kJ mol-1 |
Conductivity. As to polonium's electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured in terms of electrical resistivity @ 20 ºC is0.40 µΩ·m and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is 2.0. The thermal conductivity of radium is 0.2 W m-1 K-1.
Thermal Properties. The melting point and boiling point for polonium are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization.
| Heat of Fusion |
13 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Vaporization |
120 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Atomization |
142 kJ mol-1 |
Recent Research & Development for Polonium
Annual dose of Taiwanese from the ingestion of (210)Po in oysters.
Lee HW, Wang JJ.
Appl Radiat Isot. 2012 Nov 14;73C:9-11. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2012.09.025. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
23246841
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
A biokinetic study of 209Po in man.
Henricsson CF, Ranebo Y, Hansson M, Rääf CL, Holm E.
Sci Total Environ. 2012 Oct 15;437:384-9. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.07.080. Epub 2012 Sep 5.
PMID:
22960113
[PubMed - in process]
Estimation of distribution coefficient of natural radionuclides in soil around uranium mines
and its effect with ionic strength of water.
Mishra S, Maity S, Pandit GG.
Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2012;152(1-3):229-33. doi: 10.1093/rpd/ncs227. Epub 2012 Aug 26.
PMID:
22927651
[PubMed - in process]
Volatile dimethyl polonium produced by aerobic marine microorganisms.
Bahrou AS, Ollivier PR, Hanson TE, Tessier E, Amouroux D, Church TM.
Environ Sci Technol. 2012 Oct 16;46(20):11402-7. doi: 10.1021/es3006546. Epub 2012 Sep 25.
PMID:
22924583
[PubMed - in process]
Estimation of past radon exposure to indoor radon from embedded 210Po in household glass.
Gusain GS, Rautela BS, Ramola RC.
Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2012;152(1-3):46-50. doi: 10.1093/rpd/ncs149. Epub 2012 Aug 11.
PMID:
22887116
[PubMed - in process]
[Maria Sklodowska-Curie--her chemistry at the centenary of the second Nobel Prize].
Zagórski ZP, Kornacka EM.
Kwart Hist Nauki Tech. 2012;57(1):39-70. Polish.
PMID:
22849243
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
[Maria Sklodowska-Curie and Piotr Curie an epoch-makingin year 1898].
Wielogórski Z.
Kwart Hist Nauki Tech. 2012;57(1):23-38. Polish.
PMID:
22849242
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
[Analytical chemistry in works of Maria Sklodowska-Curie].
Hulanicki A.
Kwart Hist Nauki Tech. 2012;57(1):9-21. Polish.
PMID:
22849241
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Operational experience of continuous air monitoring of smoke for 239Pu during a wildfire.
Whicker JJ, Baltz D, Eisele WF, Hart OF, McNaughton MW, Green AA.
Health Phys. 2012 Aug;103(2 Suppl 2):S161-8. doi: 10.1097/HP.0b013e318259f286.
PMID:
22739970
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Radionuclides in resident and migratory fishes of a wedge bank region: Estimation of dose to
human beings, South India.
Khan MF, Wesley SG.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2012 Oct;64(10):2224-32. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.06.010. Epub 2012 Jul 2.
PMID:
22763281
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Polonium (210Po), uranium (234U, 238U) isotopes and trace metals in mosses from Sobieszewo Island,
northern Poland.
Borylo A, Nowicki W, Olszewski G, Skwarzec B.
J Environ Sci Health A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng. 2012;47(12):1831-42. doi:
10.1080/10934529.2012.689549.
PMID:
22755531
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Murder by radiation poisoning: implications for public health.
Miller CW, Whitcomb RC, Ansari A, McCurley C, Nemhauser JB, Jones R.
J Environ Health. 2012 Jun;74(10):8-13.
PMID:
22708201
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
From antiferromagnetic insulator to correlated metal in pressurized and doped LaMnPO.
Simonson JW, Yin ZP, Pezzoli M, Guo J, Liu J, Post K, Efimenko A, Hollmann N, Hu Z, Lin HJ, Chen
CT, Marques C, Leyva V, Smith G, Lynn JW, Sun LL, Kotliar G, Basov DN, Tjeng LH, Aronson MC.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jul 3;109(27):E1815-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1117366109. Epub 2012 May
30.
PMID:
22647607
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Occurrence of 210Po and Biological Effects of Low-Level Exposure: The Need for Research.
Seiler RL, Wiemels JL.
Environ Health Perspect. 2012 Sep;120(9):1230-7. doi: 10.1289/ehp.1104607. Epub 2012 Apr 26.
PMID:
22538346
[PubMed - in process]
Review of chemical and radiotoxicological properties of polonium for internal contamination
purposes.
Ansoborlo E, Berard P, Den Auwer C, Leggett R, Menetrier F, Younes A, Montavon G, Moisy P.
Chem Res Toxicol. 2012 Aug 20;25(8):1551-64. doi: 10.1021/tx300072w. Epub 2012 Jun 12. Review.
PMID:
22530998
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Po-210 and Pb-210 in water and fish from Taboshar uranium mining Pit Lake, Tajikistan.
Skipperud L, Jřrgensen AG, Heier LS, Salbu B, Rosseland BO.
J Environ Radioact. 2012 Apr 16. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22513216
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
The IAEA handbook on radionuclide transfer to wildlife.
Howard BJ, Beresford NA, Copplestone D, Telleria D, Proehl G, Fesenko S, Jeffree RA, Yankovich TL,
Brown JE, Higley K, Johansen MP, Mulye H, Vandenhove H, Gashchak S, Wood MD, Takata H, Andersson P,
Dale P, Ryan J, Bollhöfer A, Doering C, Barnett CL, Wells C.
J Environ Radioact. 2012 Apr 17. doi:pii: S0265-931X(12)00045-8. 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2012.01.027.
[Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22513215
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Dose estimates for the local inhabitants from 210Po ingestion via dietary sources at a proposed
uranium mining site in India.
Giri S, Jha VN, Singh G, Tripathi RM.
Int J Radiat Biol. 2012 Jul;88(7):540-6. doi: 10.3109/09553002.2012.682191. Epub 2012 May 4.
PMID:
22489896
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Concentration of selected radionuclides in seawater from Kuwait.
Uddin S, Al Ghadban AN, Aba A, Behbehani M.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2012 Jun;64(6):1261-4. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.02.025. Epub 2012 Mar 22.
PMID:
22444480
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Measurements of the half-life of 214Po and 218Rn using digital electronics.
Suliman G, Pommé S, Marouli M, Van Ammel R, Jobbágy V, Paepen J, Stroh H, Apostolidis C, Abbas K,
Morgenstern A.
Appl Radiat Isot. 2012 Sep;70(9):1907-12. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2012.02.095. Epub 2012 Mar 6.
PMID:
22436449
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Related citations
|