Large, heavy grains of dust will fall to the ground fairly quickly, but the lighter particles can be carried far away by the wind. The cloud of radioactive dust and particles from a meltdown will disperse into the air. RELATED: Here’s why children and young people should take iodine in the event of a nuclear accident.The authorities in Norway have therefore recommended everyone to buy iodine tablets that are intended to prevent radiation damage.īoth radioactive iodine and radioactive substances with longer lifespans can affect people in areas far from the accident site. By then, the thyroid gland is already filled up and will not absorb any of the radioactive iodine. This can be prevented by taking a large dose of regular iodine before being exposed to the radioactive variant. However, the problem is that the substance is absorbed into the body and accumulates in the thyroid gland, which in turn increases the risk of cancer. It has a relatively short lifespan – the half-life is only eight days. They will continue to emit radiation for decades after the incident.Īnother problematic substance is radioactive iodine. There are a few substances, such as caesium-137 and strontium-90, that pose a big problem after a nuclear accident. In such problematic substances, each atom can last a long time – often years – before it decays and releases its radiation. “The problematic substances are those that have a long half-life.” Can emit radiation for decades “Many of the radioactive substances from a bomb or a meltdown radiate for just a few seconds,” Landmark says. Immediately, there is a lot of radiation, but soon most of the atoms have decayed and are no longer radioactive. In a radioactive substance with a short half-life, this happens quickly with almost all the atoms. But what exactly is released during a meltdown? When such a meltdown occurs, there may be greater emissions over a longer period of time. These explosions lead to local areas being polluted, but not to such an extent as we saw, for example, after the Chernobyl accident,” Landmark says. Radioactive substances will fall from the sky, but much of the emissions travel high up into the atmosphere, where it has less of an impact on us. “Bombs emit very high amounts of radiation, but only for a short while,” says Landmark. But when it comes to radiation over larger areas, meltdowns of nuclear power plants can actually be worse. “In principle, the same type of radiation will come from both atomic bombs and accidents in nuclear power plants,” Landmark says.īut there is a difference in the extent of the problem.Īn atomic bomb is, of course, a disaster for those affected by the explosion itself. We spoke with Ingrid Dypvik Landmark, a senior adviser for the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, to find out more.
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