The same radioactive substance used to fatally poison formerRussian spy Alexander V. Litvinenko in London last month is astandard component in products made by a Grand Island tech company.
NRD, 2937 Alt Blvd., uses polonium in its line of static-eliminating fans, brushes and other devices used in variousindustrial processes.
The products contain enough polonium -- in theory -- to yieldlethal doses of the substance, according to a recent story in theNew York Times.
Regulators say this scenario highlights the widespread -- andlittle known -- availability of such radioactive substances.
'Radioactive material is commonly used in lots of products,' saidJeff Slawson, radiation safety officer at the University at Buffalo.
Officials at NRD and elsewhere took pains to note the radioactivematerial is handled safely according to stringent governmentregulations.
However, national security is a vital concern today as law-enforcement agents work to ensure terrorists can't get their handson radiological, chemical or biological materials.
'As a consequence of 9/11, we're all much more in tune withpotential dangers and the vigilance that's required to keep us safein this country,' said local FBI spokesman Paul Moskal.
Police in England, where Litvinenko had been living, areinvestigating his Nov. 23 death as a murder and are trying to tracethe origin of the polonium.
But regulators say that exotic-sounding radioactive elements suchas polonium are more common than one may think.
Across New York State about 1,000 companies, doctors' offices anduniversity labs are licensed to use low-level radiation emitterssuch as polonium or americium, the substance inside smoke detectors,according to the state Health Department.
A department spokesman declined to list the licensees, citingsecurity concerns.
Polonium exists naturally in tiny quantities in our bodies, andin small amounts in the air and soil, according to the HealthPhysics Society, a group that supplies information on radiationsafety.
Polonium's weak 'alpha' form of radiation can be stopped by asheet of paper or the outermost layer of skin, making it harmlessunless ingested. 'External exposure is not an issue,' said DavidMcIntyre, public affairs officer at the U.S. Nuclear RegulatoryCommission.
NRD, a 50-employee company that opened in 1969, calls itself oneof the world's largest producers of anti-static devices, some ofwhich use the element Polonium-210. It is owned by Mark IVIndustries, which is headquartered in Amherst and in Italy and hasoperations in 16 countries.
'Alpha' anti-static products take advantage of the rapid decayrate of polonium -- which loses half its radioactivity every 138days -- to emit ions that neutralize static.
A static charge in the air can harm computer parts and cameralenses and disrupt factory processes, especially in electronicsmanufacturing.
NRD also produces the radioactive components used in smokedetectors and glow-in-the-dark exit signs.
Grand Island Supervisor Peter A. McMahon said he and other townofficials met with NRD officials after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorattacks to go over the company's safety precautions. The companyalso works closely with the Grand Island Fire Department to preparethe best possible response to any fire or other problem at thefacility.
'There's a long-standing relationship with the community,'McMahon said.
NRD President Douglas Fiegel said he's been barraged with mediacalls since a Times article last Sunday suggested that his company'sproducts, or similar ones, could have been used as a source ofradioactive poison.
Fiegel refused to comment beyond a written statement, whichstates that NRD is licensed to use radioactive Polonium-210 and itssealed products 'have undergone rigorous testing and safetyanalysis.'
UB's Slawson noted that radioactive material is used indiagnosing diseases and in other medical applications.
Scientists in UB's Medical School, Dental School and other unitsconduct research involving radioactive substances.
The purchase, use and storage of radioactive materials is closelyregulated, Slawson said, and anyone handling those substancesreceives safety training.
Commercial distributors of polonium-containing products must filequarterly reports disclosing their sales and buyers, said McIntyreof the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Facilities in Erie County that use, store or manufacturehazardous substances -- including radioactive, nuclear, chemical andexplosive materials -- must register annually with the county'sEmergency Services Department, said Dean A. Messing, countyemergency operations supervisor.
There are 203 such facilities in Erie County, Messing said.
What about the prospect that someone could have ordered an anti-static fan and extracted more than enough polonium to killLitvinenko, the former Russian spy?
NRD's Fiegel wouldn't comment. But the Nuclear RegulatoryCommission spokesman called the idea far-fetched.
'We think it would be extremely difficult for someone to dothat,' McIntyre said. Like the radioactive americium in smokedetectors, polonium used in anti-static products is electroplatedwith gold, encapsulating it.
To make the polonium deadly would require a lab process torelease it from its metal capsule, allowing it to be absorbed by thebody.
'You would have to know how to extract polonium -- there are alot of other things out there that can be used to poison people,'McIntyre said.
e-mail: swatson@buffnews.com and fwilliams@buffnews.com
