Scientists discovered more than 1,000 barrels with radioactive wastes at the bottom of the North Atlantic. This was reported by the German edition of ZDF, referring to the French National Scientific Research Center.
The research mission began in mid -June: Scientists team went to L’a Atalante from France and already started dive. Their aim is to find all barrels and find out how their contents affect the ocean ecosystem.
As it is understood, nuclear waste has been left to the ocean since the 1950s. Deep sea areas, far from civilization, seemed to be an ideal solution at that time: cheap and safely as they think. Only in the Northeast Atlantic, now lies at least 200,000 barrels with radioactive substances.
Now scientists create a detailed map of waste tomb places and take examples of water, soil and sea fauna. It is still difficult to evaluate the actual threat, and it is assumed that radiation will not disappear for more than 300-400 years. In this case, the barrel structures are based on pressure at the depths, but does not interfere with the radiation leakage.
By the way, the northeast Atlantic is not the only affected region. In 1993, before the official prohibition of radioactive wastes to the ocean, 14 countries including England, USA, France, Germany, USSR and Switzerland participated. In total, more than 80 similar objects are recorded at different points of the oceans.
In the meantime, we have previously found that scientists have found that 21% of the oceans (about 75 million square kilometers) were much darker in the last twenty years. Depth changes threaten sea ecosystems in the world.
Source: People Talk
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
