The Medical Society lecture was given by Dr Nathaniel Cary (Consultant Forensic Pathologist) on ‘The Curious Case of Alexander Litvinenko’ Thursday 10 March 2016. Review by Charlotte Li (Year 12):
In a much anticipated talk an audience gathered on Thursday evening, to hear the forensic pathologist, Dr Nathaniel Cary. He talked about his experience of being the consultant forensic pathologist on the murder of ex-Russian FSB/KGB intelligence officer, Alexander Litvinenko, described by many media outlets as “the most dangerous post-mortem ever conducted”. He covered the process from beginning to end: retrieving the body through to confirming the cause of death.
Firstly, he gave a brief background to Litvinenko, explaining that he was a KGB officer in Russia who was fired, and fled to Britain to seek political asylum in 2000. It is speculated that Vladimir Putin was behind his murder, as Litvinenko seemed to be his most faithful critic. On 1 November 2006 Litvinenko went to the University College Hospital complaining of nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea after spending the afternoon at the Millenium Hotel in Mayfair, London. From then onwards, his condition worsened, developing jaundice (from liver failure) along with pharyngitis and bone marrow failure, where his white blood cell count shot down to a grim number in a matter of days.
Litvinenko made a claim on his deathbed that he had been poisoned by Russia, and toxicology was able to identify a radioactive substance (Polonium-210) in him, half an hour before he died on the 23 November. Polonium-210 has a short half-life of 138 days, and emits alpha particles with weak gamma radiation, meaning they were sure it was a pure substance which matched all his symptoms. Dr Cary elaborated on some of the physics-based elements of the case, including the Radon-226 cascade from which Polonium-210 is derived. He remarked that 97% of Po-210 is produced in Russia and the fact that it would be an extremely expensive substance to get hold of, as it has to be produced in a nuclear reactor facility.
Dr Cary then went on to describe retrieving Litvinenko’s body, where he had to wear protective equipment and put him into 2 radioactive-blocking body bags - one inside another, to reduce the risk of radiation spreading. The post-mortem examination started with the double bag cut open, and left around the cadaver, so radiation did not spread. He and his colleagues were fitted with not one, but two protective suits, and a filter in the hood, cleaning their breathing air. The post mortem involved many people, with the three pathologists being monitored by the ambulance services, as well as a blood spotter for any radioactive substances on their suits. It was concluded that Litvinenko suffered from Acute Radiation Syndrome from Polonium-210, with the failure of his organs resulting from this and pharyngitis. The source was from a cup of tea. It is thought that the Polonium-210 was put into the teapot when he met with two Russians, working closely with Putin, at a bar in the hotel. The radiation was so strong it left a trail all over London, and 139 people out of 800 people, who came in contact with Litvinenko over the few weeks after poisoning. It was described by Dr Cary as a “mini nuclear attack on London”.
The audience was buzzing with questions after his insightful talk, but there was one inevitable question that would be of great interest to all: given that he is a pathologist, what would be his idea of a perfect murder? Wisely, he did not come up with a straightforward answer, but instead remarked that it is very difficult to commit the perfect murder in our world today given the technological advances, with the ability to track your every move easily. The talk ended on an ominous but eye-opening note, as one audience member questioned the possibility of radiation and poison getting into our water sources easily. This stimulated very imaginative conversations about the possible causes of deaths afterwards, especially amongst our aspiring medics.
We would like to thank Dr Cary for his thought-provoking talk, as it was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.