Ten Most Radioactive Places on Earth Mapped Out [GRAPHIC]
Do you know the dirty side of the nuclear industry? After researching
this article
by brainz.org, we were shocked to find out how truly awful our
radioactive waste problem is and how it is going to be hurting us all,
for a long time to come. Please take the time to read the links below,
share this with your friends, and discuss solutions to these problems.
~ ClimateViewer News
While the 2011
earthquake and worries surrounding Fukushima have brought the threat of
radioactivity back into the public consciousness, many people still
don’t realize that radioactive contamination is a worldwide danger.
Radionuclides are in the top six toxic threats as listed in the 2010
report by The Blacksmith Institute,
an NGO dedicated to tackling pollution. You might be surprised by the
locations of some of the world’s most radioactive places — and thus the
number of people living in fear of the effects radiation could have on
them and their children.
10. Hanford, USA
A tank farm at Hanford, Washington, built in
the 1940s, uses only single-wall tanks to store radioactive sludge from
plutonium processing. Many of the tanks have leaked, tainting
groundwater.
The Hanford Site,
in Washington, was an integral part of the US atomic bomb project,
manufacturing plutonium for the first nuclear bomb and “Fat Man,” used
at Nagasaki. As the Cold War waged on, it ramped up production,
supplying plutonium for most of America’s 60,000 nuclear weapons.
Although decommissioned, it still holds two thirds of the volume of the
country’s high-level radioactive waste — about 53 million gallons of
liquid waste, 25 million cubic feet of solid waste and 200 square miles
of contaminated groundwater underneath the area, making it the most
contaminated site in the US. The environmental devastation of this area
makes it clear that the threat of radioactivity is not simply something
that will arrive in a missile attack, but could be lurking in the heart
of your own country. More information available at the
Hanford Site, Department of Energy website.
Hanford related disaster alerts:
- Nuclear Event in USA on Saturday, 28 July, 2007 at 17:38 (05:38 PM) UTC
- HAZMAT in USA on Wednesday, 10 August, 2011 at 03:13 (03:13 AM) UTC.
- HAZMAT in USA on Tuesday, 14 February, 2012 at 04:14 (04:14 AM) UTC.
- HAZMAT in USA on Wednesday, 22 August, 2012 at 03:18 (03:18 AM) UTC.
- Environment Pollution in USA on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:17 (03:17 AM) UTC.
- Environment Pollution in USA on Tuesday, 23 October, 2012 at 16:09 (04:09 PM) UTC.
- HAZMAT in USA on Tuesday, 08 January, 2013 at 08:18 (08:18 AM) UTC.
- HAZMAT in USA on Saturday, 22 June, 2013 at 04:33 (04:33 AM) UTC.
- Nuclear Event in USA on Friday, 23 August, 2013 at 15:22 (03:22 PM) UTC.
9. The Mediterranean
For years, there have been allegations that the
‘Ndrangheta syndicate of the Italian mafia
has been using the seas as a convenient location in which to dump
hazardous waste — including radioactive waste — charging for the service
and pocketing the profits. An Italian NGO, Legambiente, suspects that
about 40 ships loaded with toxic and radioactive waste have disappeared
in Mediterranean waters since 1994. If true, these allegations paint a
worrying picture of
an unknown amount of nuclear waste in the Mediterranean
whose true danger will only become clear when the hundreds of barrels
degrade or somehow otherwise break open. The beauty of the Mediterranean
Sea may well be concealing an environmental catastrophe in the making.
Sinkings and incidents in the Mediterranean
Sea, involving ships which are suspected of having carried toxic and
radioactive waste on
ClimateViewer 3D
8. The Somalian Coast
The
Italian mafia
organization just mentioned has not just stayed in its own region when
it comes to this sinister business. There are also allegations that
Somalian waters and soil, unprotected by government, have been used for
the sinking or burial of nuclear waste and toxic metals — including 600
barrels of toxic and nuclear waste, as well as radioactive hospital
waste. Indeed, the United Nations’ Environment Program believes that the
rusting barrels of waste washed up on the Somalian coastline during the
2004 Tsunami were dumped as far back as the 1990s. The country is
already an anarchic wasteland, and the effects of this waste on the
impoverished population could be as bad if not worse than what they have
already experienced.
7. Mayak Chemical Combine, Russia
The industrial complex of Mayak, in
Russia’s north-east, has had a nuclear plant for decades, and in 1957
was the site of one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents. Up to 100
tons of radioactive waste were released by an explosion, contaminating a
massive area. The explosion was kept under wraps until the 1980s.
Starting in the 1950s, waste from the plant was dumped in the
surrounding area and into Lake Karachay. This has led to contamination
of the water supply that thousands rely on daily. Experts believe that
Karachay may be the most radioactive place in the world, and over
400,000 people have been exposed to radiation from the plant as a result
of the various serious incidents that have occurred — including fires
and deadly dust storms. The natural beauty of Lake Karachay belies its
deadly pollutants, with the radiation levels where radioactive waste
flows into its waters enough to give a man a fatal dose within an hour.
6. Sellafield, UK
Located on the west coast of England,
Sellafield
was originally a plutonium production facility for nuclear bombs, but
then moved into commercial territory. Since the start of its operation,
hundreds of accidents have occurred at the plant, and around two thirds
of the buildings themselves are now classified as nuclear waste.
The
plant releases some 8 million liters of contaminated waste into the sea
on a daily basis, making the Irish Sea the most radioactive sea in the
world. England is known for its green fields and rolling
landscapes, but nestled in the heart of this industrialized nation is a
toxic, accident-prone facility, spewing dangerous waste into the oceans
of the world.
5. Siberian Chemical Combine
A two headed calf suffering radiation
poisoning that was born in the village of Naumkovo near the Siberian
Chemical Combine in May 2006. – European Court of Human Rights finds in
favour of villagers suing the Siberian Chemical Combine
Mayak is not the only contaminated site in Russia; Siberia is home to a
chemical facility
that contains over four decades’ worth of nuclear waste. Liquid waste
is stored in uncovered pools and poorly maintained containers hold over
125,000 tons of solid waste, while underground storage has the potential
to leak to groundwater. Wind and rain have spread the contamination to
wildlife and the surrounding area. And various minor accidents have led
to plutonium going missing and explosions spreading radiation. While the
snowy landscape may look pristine and immaculate, the facts make clear
the true level of pollution to be found here.
- Siberia Nuclear Waste, Trade Environment Database Case, The Mandala Projects
- European Court of Human Rights finds in favour of villagers suing the Siberian Chemical Combine, Bellona
- Siberian Chemical Combine (SKhK), The Nuclear Threat Initiative
- The Radiological Accident in the Reprocessing Plant at Tomsk, IAEA
- Russia plays down effect of nuclear accident: ‘Cloud of uranium and plutonium’ over Siberia, The Independent
- Tomsk-7 / Seversk Combine 816 / Siberian Chemical Combine, Global Security
- Eyeballing Seversk, Cryptome
- Partners and foreign economic activity, shk.tomsk.ru
“Siberian Chemical Plant – a world-class enterprise. But we are open for cooperation:
Cogema (France), United States Enrichment Corporation (USA), Urenco
(UK), Siemens (Germany), Palmco Corp. (USA), Sinatom (Belgium), UMP
(Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan), Iskra Industry Co., Ltd. (Japan)”
4. The Polygon, Kazakhstan
Once the location for the Soviet Union’s
nuclear weapons testing, this area is now part of modern-day Kazakhstan.
The site was earmarked for the Soviet atomic bomb project due to its
“uninhabited” status — despite the fact that 700,000 people lived in the
area. The facility was where the USSR detonated its first nuclear bomb
and is the record-holder for the place with the largest concentration of
nuclear explosions in the world: 456 tests over 40 years from 1949 to
1989. While the testing carried out at the facility — and its impact in
terms of radiation exposure — were kept under wraps by the Soviets until
the facility closed in 1991, scientists estimate that 200,000 people
have had their health directly affected by the radiation. The desire to
destroy foreign nations has led to the specter of nuclear contamination
hanging over the heads of those who were once citizens of the USSR.
Semipalatinsk Test Site on
ClimateViewer 3D - Click Pollution > Nuclear Test Explosions
3. Mailuu-Suu, Kyrgyzstan
Considered one of the top ten most polluted sites on Earth by the
2006 Blacksmith Institute report, the radiation at Mailuu-Suu comes not
from nuclear bombs or power plants, but from mining for the materials
needed in the processes they entail. The area was home to a uranium
mining and processing facility and is now left with 36 dumps of uranium
waste — over 1.96 million cubic meters. The region is also prone to
seismic activity, and any disruption of the containment could expose the
material or cause some of the waste to fall into rivers, contaminating
water used by hundreds of thousands of people. These people may not ever
suffer the perils of nuclear attack, but nonetheless they have good
reason to live in fear of radioactive fallout every time the earth
shakes.
2. Chernobyl, Ukraine
source – Science with a Skew: The Nuclear Power Industry After Chernobyl and Fukushima
Home to one of the world’s worst and most infamous nuclear accidents,
Chernobyl
is still heavily contaminated, despite the fact that a small number of
people are now allowed into the area for a limited amount of time. The
notorious accident caused over 6 million people to be exposed to
radiation, and estimates as to the number of deaths that will eventually
occur due to the Chernobyl accident range from 4,000 to as high as
93,000. The accident released 100 times more radiation than the Nagasaki
and Hiroshima bombs. Belarus absorbed 70 percent of the radiation, and
its citizens have been dealing with increased cancer incidence ever
since. Even today, the word Chernobyl conjures up horrifying images of
human suffering.
The Exclusion Zone
covers an area of approximately 2,600 km2 in Ukraine immediately
surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant where radioactive
contamination from fallout is highest and public access and inhabitation
are restricted.
1. Fukushima, Japan
The 2011 earthquake and tsunami was a tragedy that destroyed homes
and lives, but the effects of the Fukushima nuclear power plant may be
the most long-lasting danger. The worst nuclear accident since
Chernobyl, the incident caused meltdown of three of the six reactors,
leaking radiation into the surrounding area and the sea, such that
radiative material has been detected as far as 200 miles from the plant.
As the incident and its ramifications are still unfolding, the true
scale of the environmental impact is still unknown. The world may still
be feeling the effects of this disaster for generations to come.
* Research based on this brainz.org article,
with images, links, and maps by Jim Lee of ClimateViewer News.
See all of these locations and more:
Please be sure to check out our ClimateViewer features:
http://climateviewer.com/2013/11/24/10-most-radioactive-places-on-earth/
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