Radioactive isotope found in dead spy's body

LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) Health experts investigating the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko from suspected poisoning said on Friday they had found a highly toxic radioactive isotope in his body.

''Tests have established that Mr Litvinenko had a significant quantity of the radioactive isotope Polonium-210 in his body,'' Britain's independent Health Protection Agency said in a statement.

''It is not yet clear how this entered his body. Police are investigating this.'' ''Po-210 can represent a radiation hazard if it is taken into the body -- by breathing it, by eating it, or if it gets into a wound. It is not a radiological hazard as long as it remains outside the body,'' the statement added.

Polonium, a by-product of Uranium, was discovered by Polish chemist Marie Sklodowska Curie in 1898.

It is a pure alpha-particle emitter and a great deal of energy is released by its decay. A single gram of Polonium-210 generates 140 watts of heat energy.

''There are very small amounts of Polonium 210 in the natural environment from decay of uranium in the earth and in fact everyone has a small amount of polonium 210 in their body,'' said Professor Dudley Goodhead, of the Medical Research Council&Genome Stability Unit.

''But to poison someone, much larger amounts are required and this would have to be man-made, perhaps from a particle accelerator or a nuclear reactor,'' he added.

REUTERS LL RAI2213