FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
THE VODKA INITIATIVE
•
As tensions mount between the US
and Russia, the Russians create plans
to destroy all Capitalist pigs.
•
America must know the true terror of
the Motherland
•
Russia will decide a plan of action to
cripple America in its homeland
CTD…
•
Our organization has been tasked by Motherland to destroy the Capitalists
•
Comrade Ivanovo has suggested a terrorist plot to shake the hearts and minds of the
American people and make them have to buy vodka instead of water out of fear.
•
This will raise The Motherland’s GDP. (This is how you say “killing 2 boards with 1 stove”)
•
We will use a toxin to kill as many people all at once as possible.
About New York City
•
New York State has a population of
19.75 million people, 8 million of
which reside in NYC.
•
The most population dense city in
the USA.
•
The third highest GDP in the US
behind California and Texas
•
3 major aqueducts currently supply
NYC with about 1 billion gallons per
day. (We will focus on the Delaware
and Catskill aqueducts).
F1: NYC Aqueducts
INITIAL THOUGHTS AND OBJECTIVES
•
We want to get away before anyone notices what has happened
•
Kill at least ¼ of the population of New York State
•
We should probably keep this on the less expensive side, as rubles are hard to come by
these days
•
Less complication means less work and more time for drinking vodka
•
Keeping these in mind we want something deadly, but untraceable to the extent that we
can run before it is detected.
POLONIUM-210
F2: Polonium atom
UNSTABLE AS
F#@K
POLONIUM’S USES
•
Polonium is a chemical element with symbol
Po and atomic number 84, discovered in 1898
by Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. A rare and
highly radioactive element with no stable
isotopes, polonium is chemically similar to
bismuth and tellurium, and it occurs in uranium
ores. Applications of polonium are few.
•
Polonium is an alpha-emitter, and is used as
an alpha-particle source in the form of a thin
film on a stainless steel disc. These are used
in antistatic devices and for research
purposes.
•
A single gram of polonium will reach a
temperature of 500°C as a result of the alpha
radiation emitted. This makes it useful as a
source of heat for space equipment.
•
It can be mixed or alloyed with beryllium to
provide a source of neutrons.
F3: Polonium sample
Can we use Polomium?
F4: Polonium powder
CTD…
•
Nuclear experts call polonium 210 one of the most toxic materials known to science.
•
One gram of 210Po could thus in theory poison 20 million people of whom 10 million
would die.
•
By some estimates, a lethal dose might cost as little as $22.50, plus tax.
•
Unlike most common radiation sources, polonium-210 emits only alpha particles that do
not penetrate even a sheet of paper or the epidermis of human skin, thus being invisible
to normal radiation detectors in this case.
F5: How Alpha
radiation travels
MORE
•
Hospitals only have equipment to detect gamma rays. Both gamma rays and alpha
particles are classified as ionizing radiation which can cause radiation damage. An alphaemitting substance can cause significant damage only if ingested or inhaled, acting on
living cells like a short-range weapon.
•
So little of this material is needed, that you cannot see, smell, or taste it.
•
Polonium is a metal found in uranium ore whose isotope polonium-210 is highly
radioactive, emitting tiny positively charged alpha particles. So long as polonium is kept
out of the human body, it poses little danger because the alpha particles travel no more
than a few centimeters and cannot pass through skin.
?
The effects of Po210 exposure
•
If you ingest polonium-210, about 50% to 90% of the
substance will exit the body through feces, according to a
fact sheet from Argonne National Laboratory.
•
What is left will enter the bloodstream. About 45% of
polonium ingested gets into the spleen, kidneys and liver,
and 10% is deposited in the bone marrow.
•
Radiation poisoning from polonium-210 looks like the end
stage of cancer
•
Liver and kidney damage ensue, along with extreme
nausea and severe headaches. Victims often experience
vomiting, diarrhea and hair loss. The alpha particles
emitted from the decaying substance get absorbed in the
body, which is what causes harm. Death may come in a
matter of days, sometimes weeks.
F6: How it
effects the
body
POISONING OF ALEXANDER LITVINENKO
F7: Alexander Litvinenko before and after
•
Alexander Litvinenko was a former officer of
the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB)
and KGB, who fled from court prosecution in
Russia and received political asylum in the
United Kingdom.
•
On 1 November 2006, Litvinenko suddenly fell
ill and was hospitalized. He died three weeks
later, becoming the first confirmed victim of
lethal polonium-210-induced acute radiation
syndrome.
•
For several days after 1 November, Litvinenko
experienced severe diarrhea and vomiting. At
one point, he could not walk without
assistance. As the pain intensified, Litvinenko
asked his wife to call an ambulance for
assistance. For several weeks, Litvinenko's
condition worsened as doctors searched for
the cause of the illness.
•
He died three weeks later, becoming the first
confirmed victim of lethal polonium-210induced acute radiation syndrome.
•
The symptoms seen in Litvinenko appeared consistent with an administered activity of
approximately 2 GBq (50 mCi) which corresponds to about 10 micrograms of 210Po. That
is 200 times the median lethal dose of around 238 μCi or 50 nanograms in the case of
ingestion
•
Litvinenko died after three weeks of agony in a London hospital and the poison wasn't
identified as polonium until shortly after his death.
•
Filmmaker and friend of Litvinenko, Andrei Nekrasov, has suggested that the poison was
"sadistically designed to trigger a slow, tortuous and spectacular demise". Expert on
Russia Paul Joyal suggested that "A message has been communicated to anyone who
wants to speak out against the Kremlin.... If you do, no matter who you are, where you
are, we will find you, and we will silence you, in the most horrible way possible"
F8: NYC water
shed
the Kensico
reservoir
connects to the
Delaware and
Catskill
aqueducts
KENSICO RESERVOIR
F9: one of the few water Filtration Systems
•
Due to the high quality of the
Catskill/Delaware supply, New York
City is one of only five large cities in
the country with a surface drinking
water supply of such high quality that
filtration is not required as a form of
treatment. The water is still disinfected
to prevent microbial risk. DEP
disinfects its water with chlorine and
ultraviolet light
•
This provides a unique choking point
in which our plan may spring into
action.
WHAT WE’LL DO
•
The Catskill and Delaware aqueduct
systems carry in the majority of water,
while the Croton aqueduct carries less.
•
The two main aqueducts meet in two
separate reservoirs where they are
slightly filtrated
•
The Kensico and Hillview reservoirs
collect and regulate the flow of water
into the city by acting as holding pens
for the massive amounts of water
collected by the neighboring
watershed.
•
The Kensico reservoir is the first major
meeting place.
•
This is where we will put the Polonium.
F10: Kensico Reservoir
THE PLAN
•
August 10th1600, or After many Vodkas.
•
It is a nice hot day, so many people are to
be thirsty.
•
Comrade Igor will go to the Kensico
reservoir filtration center carrying the
deadly material in a safe sealed container.
•
It can be carried in crystalized or
powdered form or diluted in a bottle of
liquid. Identifying it in any of these forms
with current methods is both timeconsuming and requires an experienced
analyst.
•
Igor will easily gain access to the facility,
as he is actually, Jim Cunningham, safety
inspector sleeper cell.
•
Trigger phrase: “Jet fuel can’t melt steel
beams”
F11: Highly advanced transport device
MORE PLAN
•
Igor accesses the two main aqueduct
intakes, Catskill and Delaware, dumping
in half of his solution of diluted Po into
each.
•
As long as a proper amount is released
into the water systems the Polonium will
go unnoticed. This is due to the
immediate release of particles, dropping
the chance of catching it early a
significant amount.
•
Furthermore the gamma radiation which
most tests and hospitals can track will
be improperly tuned to see the Alpha
radiation of Po.
F12: Igor ads the perfect ingredients to our
delicious murder cake
F13: Close up of
the 3 tunnels
Where will the water go?
• This map shows a little more
clearly how the water will
travel from Kensico
Reservoir to the foolish New
Yorkers.
• Since this is the only path
for 90% of the water
entering NYC, almost
everyone will be exposed
very quickly
F14: a Simplified layout of the Aqueducts and Tunnels
F15: This map shows tunnels 1 and two will cut through highly populated areas
WHAT DO THESE MAPS TELL US?
•
Using GIS we can see that about 2/3
of the water will travel through
Manhattan
•
Manhattan houses 1.62 million people,
and we believe they will suffer the
greatest number of casualties.
•
The remainder of the city will also be
heavily affected, as long as the
particles remain evenly dispersed in
the water.
•
Some water will even travel all the way
to Staten Island
THE MATH
•
Math.
•
1,000,000,000 gal/day or 3,785,411,784 liters/day
•
Lethal dose of .00000005g
•
People drink 2 Liters/day
•
So only half a dose is necessary per liter
•
.000000025 grams/Liter x 3785411784 Liters/Day = 94.6352946 grams/Day
•
We could possibly kill 1.8 billion people if they all drank their recommended water that
day.
•
There are approximately 8million people in New York City, so we should scale it back a bit
MATH CTD…
•
We don’t want to spend too much money, so we
set a billion dollar budget.
•
At $22.50 a lethal dose
•
$1,000,000,000/ $22.5/ Dose = 44,444,444.44
lethal doses.
•
44,444,444.44 Doses = (5X10^8)*(44,444,444.44) = a mere 2.222222222g
THE AFTERMATH
•
Unlike similar radioactive isotopes, Polonium 210 releases Alpha radiation instead of
Gamma.
•
Most radiation poisoning tests are geared towards identifying Gamma rad, so even after
people begin to fall ill by the droves, health officials may have no idea of the cause.
•
Since it will take a few days for anyone to truly become sick, residual contaminated water
will continue to be used.
•
Even when the contamination is discovered, it’ll be too late to save most people. People
who are already contaminated will most likely die within the next few months, so any kind
of aide and relief help will be basically useless.
•
Eventually the material will decay into daughter isotopes. A half life of only 138 days
renders it relatively less harmless soon after the initial exposure.
THE DEVASTATION
•
Assuming an even dispersal we should
probably assume that it won’t kill everyone
who drinks it due to the dilution of the
particles, but if just 18% of this sample
remains concentrated enough, then the 8
million people should be killed.
•
Hospitals will be overrun by the huge amount
of people falling ill all at once.
•
In addition to that initial death toll, multitudes
that will consume smaller doses will face the
long term effects of cancer.
F16: radiation exposure victim
A SLOW DEATH
•
Polonium, like other sources of radiation,
does not kill immediately, sometimes taking a
few day for larger doses, but polonium’s
Alpha radiation is even slower.
•
Even Alexander Litvinenko, who consumed
over 200 times the median fatality amount,
lived 3 weeks after the initial dosage. A
smaller dose would still kill most of the
people who drink it, while sending the rate for
cancer development through the roof for
those who don’t.
•
There is no cure, unless you are treated
almost immediately. A small chance exists
that treatment can do anything once a fatal
dose is administered.
CONCLUSIONS
•
Russia’s supply of polonium is extremely dangerous
•
Polonium is too difficult to detect before it gets you.
•
Drinking the contaminated water would lead to almost certain death
•
Since symptoms would take time to show up, all involved parties can escape NYC before
the Jig is up
SOURCES
•
Romer, Alfred. Radiochemistry and the Discovery of Isotopes. New York: Dover
Publications, 1970. Print.
•
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-12-13-polonium-guide_x.htm
•
http://www.rferl.org/content/polonium-facts/25161473.html
•
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15563650902956431
•
http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/27/health/polonium-arafat-explainer
•
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning_of_Alexander_Litvinenko
•
http://www.rferl.org/content/polonium-facts/25161473.html
•
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning_of_Alexander_Litvinenko
•
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/wsstate13.pdf
•
http://ajrae.staff.shef.ac.uk/img/nyc_popdens_2010.png
MORE
•
http://habitatmap.org/editor_images/0000/2279/Map-of-NYC-Water-Tunnels-2.jpg
•
http://www.chemicool.com/elements/polonium.html
•
http://zidbits.com/2011/04/whats-the-most-lethal-poison/
•
http://media.web.britannica.com/eb-media/03/62903-004-4A2980FF.gif
•
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_water_supply_system
•
http://iopscience.iop.org/0952-4746/27/1/001/
• John Harrison et al 2007 J. Radiol. Prot. 27 17
•
Plan 2011 NYC water supply pdf from folder