In response to suspicions that Palestine leader Yasser Arafat may have been assassinated by poison in 2004, his body was briefly exhumed early Tuesday and tissue samples taken for analysis in labs in France, Switzerland and Russia. The exhumation, authorized by the Palestinian Authority, followed the announcement earlier this year that traces of the radioactive element polonium-210 had been detected in his clothes and kaffiya headdress.
Of course, at one level this is mostly a story of politics and mistrust; rumors have long circulated in Palestine that Israel had Arafat assassinated, an accusation loudly denied by the Israelis. But at another, it's a complicated science story in which the realities of this particular poison need to be explained to readers and viewers – does it even make sense that this hyperactive radioactive element would be responsible or is it merely more evidence of Middle East hostilities.
In the interests of transparency, it's an issue that I've explored on my own Wired blog. But in doing research for that post, I found myself looking for stories that offered some reasonable science or explanation of the toxicology involved. And while I found plenty of superficial reporting, there were also some excellent explanations of the science. And because understanding the rather complexicities of polonium-210 is essential to understanding whether this is a meaningful exercise – I'd like to pay tribute to them here. If nothing else, they offer a very useful guide for future stories:
Perhaps not surprisingly, at the specialized Chemistry World, Patrick Walter offers a great explanation of how instruments are able to find radioactive decay products in an eight year old body.
At CNN, Ashley Fantz does a very nice job of explaining why a radioactive element like polonium is a very iffy choice for an assessination. And it's complemented by a Elizabeth Landau piece that explores the toxic nature of the element.
Leo Hickman at The Guardian provides a short, smart and occasionally funny history of exhumations. (The BBC offered up a list of 10 exhumations, which was weirdly fascinating. At least to me.)
Both NBC and the BBC offered a focus on the difficulties of doing forensic chemistry in an eight-year-old corpse. John Ray's rather pessimistic analysis put the exhumation in the context of the seeming intractable politics of the region. Nina Lamparski at the BBC, in a piece called "Can Science Solve the Mystery Surrounding Arafat's Death?" balances both the possibilities and the difficulties of the analysis to come.
And just one more: Brian Palmer's very smart Slate piece: "Why is Polonium Used in Assassinations?"
The consensus is that the analyses are unlikely to be completed for several months. At which point this kind of background may again prove very useful!
— Deborah Blum
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