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The additional radioactivity in the biosphere caused by human activity due to the releases of man-made radioactivity and of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) can be divided into several classes. Normal licensed releases which occur during the regular operation of a plant or process handling man-made radioactive materials.
Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) consist of materials, usually industrial wastes or by-products enriched with radioactive elements found in the environment, such as uranium, thorium and potassium and any of their decay products, such as radium and radon. [1]
Radioactive contamination, also called radiological pollution, is the deposition of, or presence of radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is unintended or undesirable (from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) definition).
Most plutonium and other radioactive material is in concrete or steel structures or underground. And many sites are remote, where public risk likely would be minimal. Still, potential threats have ...
According to the environmental group Legambiente, former members of the 'Ndrangheta have said that they were paid to sink ships with radioactive material for the last 20 years. [ 126 ] In 2008, Afghan authorities accused Pakistan of illegally dumping nuclear waste in the southern parts of Afghanistan when the Taliban were in power between 1996 ...
In 2008 it conducted a study that found radiation, then publicly documented for the first time in 2023 the detection of radiation involving levels of radium-226 and strontium-90.
Uranium mining produces toxic tailings that are radioactive and may contain other toxic elements such as radon. Dust and water leaving tailing sites may carry long-lived radioactive elements that enter water sources and the soil, increase background radiation, and eventually be ingested by humans and animals. A 2013 analysis in a medical ...
Radium, like radon, is radioactive and is found in small quantities in nature and is hazardous to life if radiation exceeds 20-50 mSv/year. Radium is a decay product of uranium and thorium. [2] Radium may also be released into the environment by human activity: for example, in improperly discarded products painted with radioluminescent paint.