
Top ten most dangerous viruses in the world In a nuclear reactor, one could generate polonium by bombarding bismuth with neutrons. In order to produce the lethal dose of 100 nanograms, one would need several hundred kilograms of raw uranium ore. The world's nuclear powers are the only countries able to produce polonium in quantities that could be used to kill. In nature, it only appears in marginal quantities as a product of radioactive decay. Polonium 210 cannot be bought on the market and is almost impossible to detect if the investigation starts too late. 23 days elapsed between the day when he was hospitalized and his death. Former Russian intelligence colleagues reportedly poured the substance into his tea. Russian agents used the radioactive element to poison former FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006, say British investigators. Investigators at work after Russian agents poisoned defector Litvinenko in London Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Here are the top five substances political regimes have used in the past - or might use - to eliminate adversaries or traitors.

The number of patients treated for exposure to an unknown nerve agent in the British town of Salisbury has risen to 21, but officials have not yet confirmed exactly what substance they found.
