# It's official: Yasser Arafat's belongings were contaminated with polonium **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 16, 2013, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373 "2013-10-16T03:40:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Honesty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f04885/32.png) [@Honesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honesty)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/1 "2013-10-16T03:40:33Z")
A few days ago, the paper on Arafat’s belongings was published in the Lancet is[here](http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)61834-6/fulltext#article_upsell), though the juiciest tidbits are in the supplemental appendix. If you’re new to the game, Yasser Arafat became sick on October 12, 2004 and died less than a month on November 11. The widow of Yasser Arafat ordered the the tests to be done, the results in part, are here: [QUOTE=The Lancet] Toxicological elemental analyses done on his hair were unremarkable. Further investigations on several belongings did not reveal any known poison. To assess the possibility of 210Po ingestion, we focused our radiotoxicological analyses on visible body fluid stains from specific belongings (underwear, chapka, toothbrush, hospital cap, sportswear). We did 210Po analyses on 75 samples, 38 of them taken from Arafat’s belongings (see figure in appendix). The remaining 37 samples were references, which were not artificially contaminated with 210Po. These included cotton items that had been kept for 10 years and protected from dust and products of radon decay in an attic (appendix). **Several samples containing body fluid stains (blood and urine) contained higher unexplained 210Po activities** than the reference samples. [/QUOTE] Bolding mine. Holy shit, do they contain more polonium-210. How much more? Well, according to the supplementary appendix: [QUOTE=210Po levels from Arafat’s belongings] Underwear A, urine stain, subsample 1 **181** ±8 mBq Underwear A, urine stain, subsample 5 **60** ±3 mBq Russian chapka, subsample 1 **34.5** ±2 mBq Toothbrush, bristles **21.1** ±1.7 mBq Hospital cap with blood droplets, subsample **16.1** ±1.0 mBq Hospital cap, blood stain, subsample **13.5** ±1.0 mbq [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=210Po levels from Controls] Toothbrush, bristles, collaborator D, used **0.33** ±0.20 mBq Toothbrush, bristles, collaborator C, used **0.32** ±0.11 mBq Toothbrush, bristles, collaborator A, used and left untouched for 2 years **0.22** ±0.10 mBq Toothbrush, bristles, collaborator B, used **0.19** ±0.10 mBq Toothbrush, local supermarket, unused (new) **0.10** ±0.09 mBq [/QUOTE] Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize the man was likely poisoned. Anyone care to guess, who exposed Yasser Arafat to polonium 210 and _why_? - Honesty ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/2 "2013-10-16T04:39:45Z")
I believe there is an institute which specialises in these things. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/3 "2013-10-16T10:47:10Z")
> **[Arafat and Polonium Poisoning: A Sort-of Update](https://www.wired.com/2013/10/arafat-and-polonium-poisoning-a-sort-of-update/)** > > On Friday, the news network Al Jazeera made an announcement: the British medical journal, The Lancet, was now supporting the theory that the deceased Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, had died of polonium-210 poisoning. According to the report,... Your post is a bit sensational. ---
**Author:** ![Virgil\_Tibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@Virgil\_Tibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Virgil_Tibbs)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/4 "2013-10-16T11:17:17Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > [http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/10/arafat-and-polonium-poisoning-a-sort-of-update/](http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/10/arafat-and-polonium-poisoning-a-sort-of-update/) > > Your post is a bit sensational. The comments below the article are far more informative and scientifically literate than the article itself (save the comment about the KGB and little blond boys), but they arrive at the same conclusion: the evidence that he was poisoned is still not there. ---
**Author:** ![Honesty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f04885/32.png) [@Honesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honesty)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/5 "2013-10-16T13:57:54Z")
> [@Virgil\_Tibbs](#): > > The comments below the article are far more informative and scientifically literate than the article itself (save the comment about the KGB and little blond boys), but they arrive at the same conclusion: the evidence that he was poisoned is still not there. You should read the paper. When urine- and blood-stained clothing has 40x times more polonium than control, it’s very likely he was poisoned. This does not take rocket science, guys. LOOK. AT. THE. DATA. Forget the newspapers. LOOK AT THE DATA. [QUOTE=210Po levels from Arafat’s belongings] Underwear A, urine stain, subsample 1 181±8 mBq Underwear A, urine stain, subsample 5 60±3 mBq Russian chapka, subsample 1 34.5±2 mBq Toothbrush, bristles 21.1±1.7 mBq Hospital cap with blood droplets, subsample 16.1±1.0 mBq Hospital cap, blood stain, subsample 13.5±1.0 mbq [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=210Po levels from Controls] Toothbrush, bristles, collaborator D, used 0.33±0.20 mBq Toothbrush, bristles, collaborator C, used 0.32±0.11 mBq Toothbrush, bristles, collaborator A, used and left untouched for 2 years 0.22±0.10 mBq Toothbrush, bristles, collaborator B, used0.19±0.10 mBq Toothbrush, local supermarket, unused (new) 0.10±0.09 mBq [/QUOTE] The dude was flat-out poisoned, there’s no sense on running away from it. My question is not how, but _why_? - Honesty ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/6 "2013-10-16T14:13:59Z")
Eh. The scientists who compiled the DATA apparently say polonium can come from cigarette smoke and that only some of the samples showed (breakdown products from) polonium. Conclusion: while it _might_ have been polonium poisoning, it’s not a sure thing. ---
**Author:** ![Honesty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f04885/32.png) [@Honesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honesty)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/7 "2013-10-16T14:22:50Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Eh. The scientists who compiled the DATA apparently say polonium can come from cigarette smoke and that only some of the samples showed (breakdown products from) polonium. Conclusion: while it _might_ have been polonium poisoning, it’s not a sure thing. The researchers used **two controls**. The first control were unworn belongings that belonged Arafat and second control was new clothing purchased after the fact. Given the rapid half-life of polonium, the idea that \>160 mBq of radiation coming from his underwear is from cigarette smoke (10 years ago, no less) is laughable. It’s even more laughable because Arafat was not a smoker. Mr. Arafat was poisoned, why is everyone running off the edge of Occam’s Razor on this? - Honesty ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/8 "2013-10-16T14:24:42Z")
> [@Honesty](#): > > You should read the paper. When urine- and blood-stained clothing has 40x times more polonium than control, it’s very likely he was poisoned. This does not take rocket science, guys. :dubious: It does, however, take **science**. For instance, when Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned with polonium-210, his presence made a car he rode in too radioactive to use. His family was unable to return to their house for 6 months. So I would actually feel better about the theory if it was found in the belongings of others with him too. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/9 "2013-10-16T14:39:02Z")
Clothes supposedly belonging to Arafat (chain of custody since then ???) were found to have higher radioactive isotope levels than a control sampling (control is representative of normal background levels ??). That’s not the same as a determination that Arafat himself was exposed to polonium, or a showing that his death had anything to do with radiation poisoning. > [@Honesty](#): > > Mr. Arafat was poisoned, why is everyone running off the edge of Occam’s Razor on this? It’s because your font sizes were too small. Try again. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/10 "2013-10-16T15:07:42Z")
If I were Yasser, I’d be all embarrassed about pissing myself. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/11 "2013-10-16T15:54:02Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > It’s because your font sizes were too small. > > Try again. Agreed. I refuse to accept the numbers until they’re at least size seven and preferably posted in red. Then we’re talking serious evidence. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/12 "2013-10-16T16:05:57Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > If I were Yasser, I’d be all embarrassed about pissing myself. Yeah, I don’t know about the poisoning but it seems he took the admonition against “shaking it more than twice” very seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/13 "2013-10-16T16:15:19Z")
I think we need a bias check here, people. It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that if Arafat was poisoned, it was probably the Israeli government that was behind it. Now ask youself: if the prime suspect was _anybody_ else (the CIA, the KGB, Saddam Hussein) would you be objecting to the idea that he was poisoned so strongly? On the face of it, this looks rather damning. If Arafat’s 10-year-old underwear is showing high levels of Po210 contamination, then logically at the time of his death the level of contamination should have been much higher. Incidentally, what are the decay products of Polonium? It might be enlightening if his clothing could be tested for those. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/14 "2013-10-16T16:32:04Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > I think we need a bias check here, people. It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that if Arafat was poisoned, it was probably the Israeli government that was behind it. If he was poisoned, the Israelis would certainly be a possible suspect. But I’d argue Hamas would be a more likely one. At the time of Arafat’s death, he was fighting Hamas for the leadership of the Palestinian territories. Israel’s opposition to Arafat went back for decades - if they were going to kill Arafat, why would they have waited so long to do it? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/15 "2013-10-16T16:33:26Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > I think we need a bias check here, people. High irony levels have just blasted my irony meter to shreds. > [@](#): > > On the face of it, this looks rather damning. On the basis of what’s been reported, we have no good evidence whatsoever that Arafat was poisoned with anything (no signs/symptoms that point convincingly to radiation sickness, no autopsy results indicative of same, mysterious underwear readings\* that may or may not show that his undies were dosed - in other words, a forensic trail that only the most dedicated conspiracy theorist bloodhounds could follow. \*“Arafat’s 10-Year-Old Underwear” would be an intriguing band name. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/16 "2013-10-16T16:42:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > If he was poisoned, the Israelis would certainly be a possible suspect. But I’d argue Hamas would be a more likely one. At the time of Arafat’s death, he was fighting Hamas for the leadership of the Palestinian territories. Israel’s opposition to Arafat went back for decades - if they were going to kill Arafat, why would they have waited so long to do it? A good point. But do you doubt that a certain amount of the skepticism being shown is basically a reflex against the idea that the Israeli government might have murdered him? As for the comparisons between this and Litvinenko, I’d argue that the KGB wanted to make Litvinenko suffer. The idea was to send a message to any other would-be whistleblowers. As long as they had even a paper-thin veneer of deniability, that was good enough. Presumably, whoever poisoned Arafat was trying to be more discreet. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/17 "2013-10-16T16:44:25Z")
Another [“official” report](http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.552502), just out: \*A Russian official said Tuesday that forensic tests found no indications of polonium poisoning in the body of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. “He could not have died of polonium poisoning – the Russian experts found no traces of this substance,” Vladimir Uiba, the head of Russia’s Federal Medical-Biological Agency, told the Interfax news agency on Tuesday. \* Of course, this conclusion is only good till the next report/study/speculation/wild accusation surfaces. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/18 "2013-10-16T16:49:56Z")
Polonium-210 [decays into lead-206](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium-210#Polonium-210). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/19 "2013-10-16T17:09:19Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > A good point. But do you doubt that a certain amount of the skepticism being shown is basically a reflex against the idea that the Israeli government might have murdered him? Yes. But skepticism is a two-way street. There are people who are too quick to jump on any evidence of Israeli guilt. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373/20 "2013-10-16T19:30:36Z")
What we need now is dramatic, irrefutable proof. Like if Arafat’s longjohns are shown to have grown a third leg. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-yasser-arafats-belongings-were-contaminated-with-polonium/671373.md?page=2)