Nuclear Fallout in Molten Glaciers: Danger: ENERGY: Science Times

Vienna, Austria – For the first time in years, a group of international scientists is We are now examining the presence of nuclear fallout on the ice surface of glaciers in the Caucasus Alps, the Arctic, British Columbia, Antarctica and Iceland. The team investigated 17 sites and found radioactive material residues. The concentrations of these materials are often ten times higher than elsewhere.

"The levels of these materials are the highest levels that can be seen from the area that is already outside the areas of nuclear explosion," said Caroline Clason, researcher. and Lecturer at the University of Plymouth.

When radioactive the material is released, it goes into the atmosphere and explodes and falls back to earth in the form of acid rain. Some are absorbed by the various elements on the Earth's surface, including soil and plants. However, there are also cases where these chemicals fall in the form of snow and adjust on the surface of the ice. They form relatively heavier sediments than those that fall on floor. Then they are collected in glaciers with more concentrated concentrations of nuclear residues.

"The radioactive materials can be very light, that's why, when they are sent in the atmosphere, they can go very far," she said during an interview. .

By far, the Chernobyl disaster, which occurred in 1986, remains the most devastating accident in terms of nuclear weapons. The release of radioactive material, including cesium in the atmosphere, resulted in widespread contamination. It caused acid rain in northern Europe for weeks.

"When it falls like an acid rain like the one that occurred during the Chernobyl incident, it falls to the ground and what is not absorbed becomes runoff and can then be considered as a punctual event, "she added. But when it falls in the form of snow, it becomes solid ice for decades, until the warmer temperature melts it. Then it goes downstream. "

The impact of this contamination on the environment has been demonstrated in recent discoveries. For example, a dead boar in Sweden was tested and its body contained at least 10 times more cesium than its safe concentrations.

Clason and his team of researchers also detected fallout from the collapse of Fukushima in 2011. However, they pointed out that much of the particles in this difficult-to-recover situation are not yet collected in the form of frozen sediments.

Although there is little data available on how these materials can affect the ecological balance and potentially harm the human race, Clason said that these chemicals are "particularly dangerous".