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A comment on Big Tobacco knew radioactive Po210 in cigarettes posed cancer risk, kept quiet.

Re:Big Tobacco knew radioactive Po210 in cigarettes posed ca... by hasmanean on Saturday July 29, 2023 @08:08PM (#36926237)
Where does polonium come from in tobacco fields? If it’s in the topsoil then why wouldn’t it be depleted after 3 or 4 crops?

Was it released into some Appalachian watershed by Oak Ridge and is therefore in the rivers/groundwater?

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Big Tobacco knew radioactive Po210 in cigarettes posed ca... by pfdietz on Saturday July 29, 2023 @08:38PM (#36926438)
Polonium comes from uranium. It's on the decay chain, via radium and then radon. Soil contains uranium at about the same concentration as the underlying bedrock (typically a few ppm by mass.)
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Big Tobacco knew radioactive Po210 in cigarettes posed ca... by HPsquared on Saturday July 29, 2023 @08:18PM (#36926308)
Phosphate fertilizer, I think. It contains some polonium IIRC. Minerals have impurities.
[ Parent | on HN ]