It was described as painful, but necessary.

One of the commenters said that Polonium-210 was a favorite of the KGB. Interesting.  It jogged my memory of another involved with the Russians who also suddenly became ill.  Be sure to click on the link for Anna Politakovskaya, whom was also poisoned, albeit unsuccessfully.  When poison doesn’t work, a bullet will do the trick…

Here’s another article on Arafat on the daily beast: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/12/the-ghost-of-yasser-arafat.html

Here’s an interesting side article on radiation’s effects.  And one here on radiation testing in the U.S. and its consequences: http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/utah_today/radiationdeathanddeception.html