Whistleblower claims uranium workers exposed to unsafe radiation levels

A company whistleblower claims that mining giant BHP Billiton is risking the lives of employees at Olympic Dam mine in South Australia. Of particular concern is the radioisotope, polonium-210 which is leathal in very small doses, as small as the weight of a butterfly wing scale. Polonium-210 was used to murder Alexader Litvinenko, a Soviet intelligence operative, in 2006. Workers at Olympic Dam are exposed to polonium-210 because it is a decay product of uranium. The full story is in the June 4 issue of The Independent Weekly.