nuclear-news

Frozen fallout: radioactive dust from accidents and weapons testing accumulates on glaciers.

Physics World, 20 Jun 2023 James Dacey

Glacier surfaces in certain parts of the world contain concerning amounts of toxic radioactive materials, a result of weapons testing and nuclear accidents such as the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Fallout radionuclides accumulate within cryoconite – a granular sediment found in holes on glacier surfaces – and there is a risk of this material entering local ecosystems as glaciers melt due to climate change. Glaciologists and ecologists say this poses urgent questions. What regions are at highest risk? How diluted is the nuclear material entering proglacial zones? What impact might that have on organisms?…..

more https://physicsworld.com/a/frozen-fallout-radioactive-dust-from-accidents-and-weapons-testing-accumulates-on-glaciers/
—

November 16, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change, environment, radiation