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A large amount of caesium was released during the Goiânia accident where a radioactive source (made for medical use) was stolen and then smashed open during an attempt to convert it into scrap metal. The accident could have been stopped at several stages; first, the last legal owners of the source failed to make arrangements for the source to ...
The sources of radioactive pollution can be classified into two groups: natural and man-made. Following an atmospheric nuclear weapon discharge or a nuclear reactor containment breach, the air, soil, people, plants, and animals in the vicinity will become contaminated by nuclear fuel and fission products.
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]
The water has a radioactive material known as phosphogypsum, a byproduct from using phosphate to create fertilizer. Phosphogypsum is placed into stacks and maintained to limit the amount ...
A radioactive source is a known quantity of a radionuclide which emits ionizing radiation, typically one or more of the radiation types gamma rays, alpha particles, beta particles, and neutron radiation. Sources can be used for irradiation, where the radiation performs a significant ionising function on a target material, or as a radiation ...
RTGs are still a potential source of radioactive contamination: if the container holding the fuel leaks, the radioactive material will contaminate the environment. The main concern is that if an accident were to occur during launch or a subsequent passage of a spacecraft close to Earth, harmful material could be released into the atmosphere.
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will start releasing treated and diluted radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean as early as Thursday — a controversial step that the government ...
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 ...