Polonium usually is isolated from by-products of the extraction of radium from uranium minerals.
It can be produced artificially by bombarding bismuth or lead with neutrons or with accelerated charged particles. Chemically, polonium resembles the elements tellurium and bismuth. When contained in such substances as gold foil, which prevent the alpha radiation from escaping, polonium is used industrially to eliminate static electricity generated by such processes as paper rolling, the manufacture of sheet plastics, and the spinning of synthetic fibers. It is also used on brushes from removing dust from photographic film and in nuclear physics as a source of alpha radiation. Mixtures of polonium with beryllium or other light elements are used as sources of neutrons.