from 1989: Tin smelter at Hull in Britain discharges radioactive polonium (LEAD) from stack

"DISCHARGES of radioactivity and other forms of pollution from Europe's biggest tin smelter at Hull in Britain are not to blame for causing abnormally high numbers of childhood cancers in villages close to the site, according to Britain's pollution 'police'.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution cleared the Capper Pass complex on Humberside, pictured here, of blame last week in a report that describes one of the most detailed investigations ever undertaken by the organisation's air pollution and radiochemical inspectors.

The chimney at the plant, which is 180 metres high, discharges radioactive polonium-210 [LEAD/Pb] as well as a cocktail of other toxic pollutants including antimony, arsenic, cadmium, lead, tin and zinc.

The inspectorate says that, on the basis of environmental data, predictions of dispersion patterns, radiological assessments and epidemio-logical studies, there is no evidence to link unusually high incidence of leukemia in the area with radioactive pollution from the plant. The report concludes that with the exception of cadmium, the concentrations of pollutants would not be expected to damage health.

From issue 1658 of New Scientist magazine, 01 April 1989"

Smelting radioactive material

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:38:05 GMT
" Johannesburg - South Africa's Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk on Friday gave the green light for the construction of a smelter for radioactive nuclear waste at the site of the Pelindaba nuclear facility outside Pretoria. The facility would be used to process about 140,000 tons of waste of varying levels of radioactivity, said van Schalkwyk. No "viable alternative" for treating nuclear waste in South Africa had been found, he said in his written decision. Some of the radioactive metal equipment used in South Africa's secretive apartheid-era uranium enrichment programme, under which it developed six and a half nuclear bombs, are to be melted down. The green light for the smelter came despite objections from residents and anti-nuclear and environmental activists. South Africa recently approved plans to resume uranium enrichment. The country has a nuclear-fired electricity plant at Koeberg near Cape Town."
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/100620.html