Insidious and invisible - radiation scares many, especially today, when not much time has passed since the accident in Japanese Fukushima, and the word "Chernobyl" has long become a household word.
It is possible that the top ten most radioactive places on Earth may surprise many who live, unaware of the potential danger.
10. Hanford complex
The Hanford facility in the US state of Washington has been producing plutonium for the US nuclear program for decades. Today, two thirds of the state’s radioactive waste are located here. Despite the fact that the enterprise is decommissioned, 200 thousand liquid and 700 thousand cubic meters of solid waste remain contaminated, as well as 518 square meters. km of groundwater.
9. The Mediterranean Sea
A paradise for tourists or a giant dumping of hazardous waste? It is widely known that the Italian mafia has repeatedly been charged with using sea water for the disposal of radioactive waste. About forty ships with dangerous cargo found refuge in the Mediterranean waters. All catastrophic situations can be revealed after a time when the integrity of the containers is violated.
8. The coast of Somalia
Also affected by the actions of the Italian mafia. Lacking a protectorate from the state, soil and coastal waters became a repository for 600 barrels of radioactive waste. According to the UN, waste containers were thrown out on the coast of Somalia during the 2004 tsunami.
7. Production Association Mayak in Russia
It has become the site of one of the largest nuclear disasters in history. As a result of a powerful explosion in 1957, up to 100 tons of radioactive substances were thrown into the air and soil on a vast territory. The incident was carefully hidden until the 1980s. However, in addition to the accidental release, since the 1950s, the Mayak deliberately polluted the river and the beautiful Lake Karachay with its waste.
6. Sellafield Station
A center of radiation threat on the west coast of prosperous Britain. Initially, the complex produces plutonium for nuclear bombs, then from the military it became a commercial enterprise. Two-thirds of Sellafield's radioactive waste storage facilities. The daily discharge of 8 million liters of toxic substances makes the Irish Sea the most radioactive in the world
5. Siberian chemical plant
Unfortunately, Mayak is not the only place contaminated with radiation in Russia. The Siberian Chemical Plant has been storing toxic waste for more than four decades. The deplorable state of containers containing hazardous substances can lead to pollution of soil and groundwater.
4. Former nuclear test site in Semipalatinsk
I inherited modern Kazakhstan from the USSR. Although it was believed that the place was ideal for testing nuclear weapons, about 700 thousand people lived in the region. The record of Semipalatinsk - 465 nuclear tests in 40 years - knows no analogues in the world.
3. Uranium Mines in Mailu-Suu
They represent a real danger to the ecology of Kyrgyzstan. The raw materials mined here are processed, the waste from which is filled 36 deadly landfills. The danger is compounded by the seismic activity of the region. An earthquake can lead to contamination of soil, water, and fallout.
2. Chernobyl nuclear power plant
The infamous fame of Chernobyl can serve as every reminder of the danger that radiation poses to humans. As a result of the disaster, more than 6 million people felt the effects of radiation, of which, according to various sources, from 4 to 93 thousand were killed. The ecological situation in Chernobyl today is far from ideal - these are the consequences of the emission of radiation 100 times higher than the indices recorded during the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
1. Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant
The damage caused to Japan by the earthquake and tsunami can only become a small part of the danger that threatens the coastal ecology in the Fukushima area. The true extent of pollution has not been elucidated to this day. However, radiation was detected 320 kilometers from the crash site. Scientists have yet to assess the potential danger of this accident to future generations. It is possible that the coast of Japan is already the most radioactive place on earth.
