title: (210)Po poisoning as possible cause of death: forensic investigations and toxicological analysis of the remains of Yasser Arafat.
abstract: The late president of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, died in November 2004 in Percy Hospital, one month after having experienced a sudden onset of symptoms that included severe nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain and which were followed by multiple organ failure. In spite of numerous investigations performed in France, the pathophysiological mechanisms at the origin of the symptoms could not be identified. In 2011, we found abnormal levels of polonium-210 ((210)Po) in some of Arafat's belongings that were worn during his final hospital stay and which were stained with biological fluids. This finding led to the exhumation of Arafat's remains in 2012. Significantly higher (up to 20 times) activities of (210)Po and lead-210 ((210)Pb) were found in the ribs, iliac crest and sternum specimens compared to reference samples from the literature (p-value <1%). In all specimens from the tomb, (210)Po activity was supported by a similar activity of (210)Pb. Biokinetic calculations demonstrated that a (210)Pb impurity, as identified in a commercial source of 3MBq of (210)Po, may be responsible for the activities measured in Arafat's belongings and remains 8 years after his death. The absence of myelosuppression and hair loss in Mr Arafat's case compared to Mr Litvinenko's, the only known case of malicious poisoning with (210)Po, could be explained by differences in the time delivery-scheme of intake. In conclusion, statistical Bayesian analysis combining all the evidence gathered in our forensic expert report moderately supports the proposition that Mr Arafat was poisoned by (210)Po.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Radiation Physics, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Froidevaux
authors.affiliation: Institute of Radiation Physics, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: francois.bochud@chuv.ch.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bochud
authors.affiliation: Institute of Radiation Physics, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baechler
authors.affiliation: University Centre of Legal Medicine, Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Castella
authors.affiliation: University Centre of Legal Medicine, Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Augsburger
authors.affiliation: Institute of Radiation Physics, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bailat
authors.affiliation: University Centre of Legal Medicine, Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Michaud
authors.affiliation: Institute of Radiation Physics, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Marietta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Straub
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pecchia
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Theo M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Jenk
authors.affiliation: University Centre of Legal Medicine, Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uldin
authors.affiliation: University Centre of Legal Medicine, Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Patrice
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mangin
mesh_terms: D001499:Bayes Theorem; D002423:Cause of Death; D005197:Famous Persons; D053593:Forensic Toxicology / Q000379:methods*; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007856:Lead Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning; D011059:Polonium / Q000506:poisoning*; D011868:Radioisotopes
chemical_list: D007856:Lead Radioisotopes; D011868:Radioisotopes; D011059:Polonium
keywords: Human remains; Poisoning; Polonium; Toxicology; Yasser Arafat