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

Re:Big Tobacco knew radioactive Po210 in cigarettes posed ca... by progman32 on Saturday July 29, 2023 @08:39PM (#36926444)
> tends to grow better in the presence of radioactivity.

Can you post a source for this? Curious.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Big Tobacco knew radioactive Po210 in cigarettes posed ca... by sidewndr46 on Saturday July 29, 2023 @09:03PM (#36926596)
It's complex, but the fertilizer itself is actually the source of the radioactive stuff. Tobacco has the odd characteristic of capturing that and the decay products are things like polonium

https://news.cancerresearchuk.org/2008/08/29/radioactive-pol...

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Big Tobacco knew radioactive Po210 in cigarettes posed ca... by yaakov34 on Sunday July 30, 2023 @01:40AM (#36928199)
That doesn't say anything about Polonium being selectively taken up by the plant and used for growth. Just contamination on the sticky covering of the plants. Which doesn't make smoking tobacco good in any way, shape or form whatsoever, but it's not at all the same claim.
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