Asarco LLC announced today that a new management team for their El Paso Plant is in place

"El Paso, Texas - October 18, 2007 .....

Bob Litle, new Plant Manager, has an extensive background in managing Asarco’s core businesses and operations that includes non-ferrous metals, specialty chemicals, environmental operations, and regulatory compliance. A native of Bozeman, Montana, Mr. Litle received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Montana State University

Art Burgos, new Environmental Manager, has critical experience managing environmental programs to ensure compliance with local, state and federal environmental regulations. Mr. Burgos is well-educated, including a bachelor of science in Geological Engineering from the University of Sonora Mexico and a Diplôme d’Etudes Supérieures Spécialisées (DESS) (focusing in Mining/Hydrogeology) from the School of Mines of Paris, France. In addition, Mr. Burgos has earned a masters of science in Environmental Geology with a focus on Hydrogeology and Environmental Engineering and Science from The University of Texas at El Paso."
http://www.newspapertree.com/press_releases/195-asarco-announces-new-management-at-el-paso-plant

Arizona Copper smelter FLUE Dust contains elevated amounts of radioactive material from unknown source(s)

" The ADEQ detected elevated levels of TENORM [technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material] in the smelter flue dust at the Magma Copper Company's smelter and concentrator operations in San Manual Arizona. The exact source of the radiation is unclear, and it may originate from the ore concentrates, or the natural gas used in the smelter, or it may come from some other source."

"When the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality shared data with EPA on TENORM emanating from copper mines in mid 1992, the Agency began a study of the occurrence and distribution of TENORM at mines in the southwestern copper belt of Arizona. The following report is the result of that study. TENORM in SW Copper Belt of Arizona (PDF) (124 pp, 2,470 Kb) [EPA 402-R-99-002]"

"Soils and rock in copper mining areas may contain naturally-occurring radioactive materials (NORM):uranium, thorium, radium"

see:
http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/tenorm/copper.html

[the Ionics Brine concentrator (distillation unit) at Asarco El Paso was rated to handle LLRW (low level radioactive waste) - we are not told if that feature was needed at Asarco El Paso or not...  Ionics has since been purchased by G.E. and the description of that unit is not available online]