Dr Sunderman was the director of one of the teams watching over the health of the atomic scientists and developed an antidote for a form of metal poisoning, first trying it out on himself.

ECONOMIST: William Sunderman

With plutonium no longer needed for use in the world's abandoned fast breeder reactor programmes and nuclear powers getting rid of their atomic weapons, large stockpiles of the highly toxic plutonium metal are starting to build up.

BBC: More suspect nuclear fuel found

One metal, though, which has received little attention but poses atomic possibilities, is uranium.

FORBES: Forget Gold and Oil, Buy Uranium!