These areas are some of the most radioactive places on Earth.
Exposure to radiation is a part of our day-to-day life. Just stepping outside exposes you to reduced levels of ionizing radiation emanating from the sun, and you can't even take in some foods without 'exposure' to radiation (even though it's in minute quantities).
And so, without delay, here are some of the most radioactive places in the world. The following list is in no specific order and is not comprehensive.
1. Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant, Japan is one of the most radioactive places in the world
When a 9.1 magnitude earthquake led to a tsunami in 2011, it overpowered the existing safety characteristics of the Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant and brought about the worst nuclear power plant disaster since Chernobyl.
Although the plant survived the first earthquake, the resulting tsunami was more than twice as strong as the plant was made to tolerate. This incident made the seawater pumps of the plant - meant to make the reactors cool during the shutdown - to fail.
2. Chernobyl, Pripyat, Ukraine is also kind of radiated
One of the worst, and most well-known, disastrous nuclear power plant accidents shocked the world in April of 1986. The event happened during a late-night safety test at the plant that was supposed to simulate a station power outrage.
This caused the actual disablement of the actual safety systems of the plant, leading to an enormous steam explosion and an open-air graphite fire. The fire conveyed plumes of radioactive materials very far into the atmosphere, bringing about risky fallout across the USSR and parts of Europe.
3. The Polygon, Semiplataninsk, Kazakhstan is another area polluted with radiation
You might not be aware of this one, but it is one of the world's most radioactive places. Soviet Union made use of the Polygon as one of their primary nuclear weapon testing sites during the time of the Cold War.
It has been estimated that about 450 nuclear tests took place here between 1949 and 1989. The total impact of radiation exposure on residents living close by was concealed for many years by Soviet authorities and has only become known since the closure of the test site in 1991.
4. The Hanford Site, Washington, USA is another radiation zone to avoid
The Hanford Site in Washington, USA is among the world's most radioactive places. It was the United States' major Plutonium production facility for their nuclear weapon arsenal during the Cold War.
Plutonium for about 60,000 nuclear weapons was manufactured here, both the batch that was used in the "Fat Man" bomb that was landed on Nagasaki in 1945. Although deactivated, it still holds by volume about 60% of the high-level radioactive waste, currently, it is managed by the US Department of Energy.
5. Another of the world's most radiation polluted areas is the Somali Coast
There is a rumour that the Italian criminal organization the 'Ndrangheta, among others, has been making use of the safeguarded soils and waters off the Somalian coast for unauthorised disposal of nuclear waste and other toxic materials for years.
Related Article : Soil Particles in Australia Could Still be Contaminated With Radioactive Plutonium
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