headgif

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Radio-active is just another word for ‘likes to party’

A paid message from the Association of Polonium Manufacturers and Distributors of Australia

The ‘recent’ ‘allegation’ regarding the ‘assassination’ of ‘Russian’ ‘dissident’ Alexander Litvinenko using the radioactive isotope polonium-210 has sparked predictable but misguided calls for this little-understood substance to be more tightly regulated. This could not be more wrong-headed and unfair. At the end of the day, polonium-210 is just another cute, shiny powderised metal unable to look out for itself. Who at the end of the day will stand up for this perky little marvel of nature whose greatest crime is that it likes to mingle?

Indeed, after petroleum, water, liquid natural gas, ammonium and 17 other types of liquids with industrial applications*, polonium may be fairly said to be the life-blood of our economy**.

Just look at some of these everyday products which would have to be manufactured differently or with different materials if polonium suddenly became less accessible due to a heavy-handed and ill-advised Government intervention:

  • Tank armour
  • Cigarette filters***
  • Weather-proof playground matting****
  • Tank armour-piercing bullets
So next time you light up or fire off, spare a thought for polonium-210, the plucky little isotope that could!

*but not including human or animal blood distillates.
** polonium is not normally a liquid except when under great stress.

*** cigarettes manufactured before 1983
**** as used in the former East Germany, Albania and China before 1997.

2 comments:

redcap said...

Oh, poor little polonium-210. Don't they they also use it in hair removal products for the extremely hirsuit?

Kirsty said...

I've been meaning to say for sometime now, thanks for the link on your blogroll.

I've been lurking, but have been thoroughly, if silently, enjoying all of your posts. The worlds you create, in such a short space, are insane, in a good way.