I have often wondered how the many nuclear weapon tests from the late 1940s until the Atmospheric Test Ban in 1963 has affected our health. I hope nuclear weapons are never used again but it wouldn't surprise me if they were. India and Pakistan could use them, Israel apparently came close to using them at one time, North Korea could use them and Putin has been making threats.
A problem closer to home is the unshielded nuclear reactor in Dawson County, Georgia. It was built to test the feasibility of a nuclear powered airplane. It didn't work out but it was later used to assess the effect of massive radiation on different materials. Scientists would go into an underground bunker and activate the mechanism that raised the reactor out of the ground. When the research ended the facility was sealed up and abandoned except for periodic inspections to survey background radiation and people that sneak in to explore. The cancer rate is higher in Dawson County and Pickens County and the damage to the surrounding forest is still visible. I have one lab quality.geiger counter, several survey meters for detecting.levels of radiation too high to measure with the geiger counter, and several dosimeters.
A problem closer to home is the unshielded nuclear reactor in Dawson County, Georgia. It was built to test the feasibility of a nuclear powered airplane. It didn't work out but it was later used to assess the effect of massive radiation on different materials. Scientists would go into an underground bunker and activate the mechanism that raised the reactor out of the ground. When the research ended the facility was sealed up and abandoned except for periodic inspections to survey background radiation and people that sneak in to explore. The cancer rate is higher in Dawson County and Pickens County and the damage to the surrounding forest is still visible. I have one lab quality.geiger counter, several survey meters for detecting.levels of radiation too high to measure with the geiger counter, and several dosimeters.
