Radioactivity is spreading in Antarctica – After 60 years
-Rahil Khan
Continuous radioactive chlorine gas is dispersing from icebergs in Antarctica. This gas, which is harmful to the organism, is getting mixed with the Pacific Ocean, making the situation extremely tense.
Six decades ago, during the 1950-60s, the United States launched the first atomic bomb explosion in the region. A recent study identified a particular type of radioactive chlorine gas in the area, which is lost from the ice-filled part of the continent.
Between 1945 and 1992, the US military has conducted over a thousand nuclear bomb tests in Antarctica. A group of scientists have claimed that a particular type of radioactive chlorine named chlorine-1 has been found in icy areas of Antarctica continent.
According to scientists, the material was trapped in ice when the US military tested a nuclear weapon three years ago, and from there, the radioactive chlorine is still circulating in the air. However, the researchers claim that it does not harm the environment.
For decades, a group of researchers from the French-based research agency ‘Center for Research and Teaching in Geosciences and the Environment’ conducted radioactive research in two areas in Antarctica.
Although the amount of radioactive chemicals in “Talos Dome” is relatively low, the scientists observed higher rates of chlorine-1 in the blast zone.
During the period from 1945-92, more than 200 bomber tests were conducted in the open environment by the US military among the thousands of nuclear weapons tests. These tests are carried out by dropping the
the bomb from the aircraft or on an island or slightly below the ice level.
Source: The Daily Prothom Alo.
