Editing Polonium (section)

===Tobacco===
[[Polonium-210]] in tobacco contributes to many of the cases of [[lung cancer]] worldwide. Most of this polonium is derived from [[lead-210]] deposited on tobacco leaves from the atmosphere; the lead-210 is a product of [[radon-222]] gas, much of which appears to originate from the decay of [[radium-226]] from fertilizers applied to the tobacco soils.<ref name="Muggli08" /><ref name="Martell1974">{{cite journal|last1=Martell|first1=E. A.|title=Radioactivity of tobacco trichomes and insoluble cigarette smoke particles|journal=Nature|date=1974|volume=249|issue=5454|pages=214–217|doi=10.1038/249215a0|pmid=4833238|bibcode=1974Natur.249..215M|s2cid=4281866}}</ref><ref name="Martell1975">{{cite journal|last1=Martell|first1=E. A.|title=Tobacco Radioactivity and Cancer in Smokers: Alpha interactions with chromosomes of cells surrounding insoluble radioactive smoke particles may cause cancer and contribute to early atherosclerosis development in cigarette smokers|journal=American Scientist|date=1975|volume=63|issue=4|pages=404–412|jstor=27845575|bibcode = 1975AmSci..63..404M |pmid=1137236}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine|volume= 101|issue= 3|pages= 156–7|title= The big idea: polonium, radon and cigarettes|doi=10.1258/jrsm.2007.070021 |pmid= 18344474|pmc= 2270238|year= 2008|last1= Tidd|first1= M. J.}}</ref><ref>Birnbauer, William (2008-09-07) [http://www.theage.com.au/national/big-tobacco-covered-up-radiation-danger-20080906-4b54.html?page=-1 "Big Tobacco covered up radiation danger"]. ''The Age'', Melbourne, Australia</ref>

The presence of polonium in tobacco smoke has been known since the early 1960s.<ref>{{cite journal| author = Radford EP Jr| author2 = Hunt VR |title = Polonium 210: a volatile radioelement in cigarettes |journal = Science| date =1964| volume = 143| issue = 3603 | doi = 10.1126/science.143.3603.247| pmid=14078362| bibcode=1964Sci...143..247R| pages = 247–9| s2cid = 23455633 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| author = Kelley TF| title = Polonium 210 content of mainstream cigarette smoke| journal = Science| date =1965| volume =149| issue = 3683| pages = 537–538| doi = 10.1126/science.149.3683.537 | pmid = 14325152|bibcode = 1965Sci...149..537K| s2cid = 22567612}}</ref> Some of the world's biggest tobacco firms researched ways to remove the substance—to no avail—over a 40-year period. The results were never published.<ref name="Muggli08" />