God help us, but it's chaos in the making, a complete ethnic cleansing of the “other” — and in this case the other would be all of life itself — more specifically humans — who, according to pop science, have been roaming our planet for about 100 000 years.
Which is precisely the minimum period of time required for radioactive waste to become inert …
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To begin with, the only element “depleted” in depleted uranium (DU) is the the fissionable uranium. It remains a highly toxic substance derived from natural uranium that has been enriched to produce nuclear reactor fuel; it's 1,8 times as dense as lead and is a 'free' commodity used in the industrialised world, specifically the arms industry.
Uranium is a known carcinogen and is already radioactive when mined from the ground. The rock containing the uranium is carefully crushed and the uranium ore is extracted, the remaining sand is also highly radioactive and is known as uranium tails, or tailings. This contains radon-220, polonium-210, radium-226, thorium-230, radon gas and radon progeny, among other supercharged toxic materials.
Polonium-210 was allegedly used by the Russian government to poison Alexander Litvinenko, the ex-intelligence agent who detailed Russia's oppression and subjugation of Chechens, including the exploitation of their natural resources. In a matter of days the Polonium debilitated his body through multi-system dysfunction. In less than 12 days, his major organs had shut down. His skin had begun to rot and his brain was no longer capable of cognitive function. Within 21 days he was dead.
[ ... ]Radon-220 is the highly cancerous radioactive gas released underground during the mining and extraction process. It's a by-product of uranium ore and an alpha emitter and there is no possible way to prevent Radon-220 from being diffused into the atmosphere. When inhaled, it irradiates the cells of the lungs causing aggressive malignant cancers. Radon-220 has a half-life of 75 000 years.
Radium-226 is a calcium analogue and key component of uranium dust and is released into the atmosphere through the mining process and the uranium tailings. It is absorbed via inhalation, water tables, air, soil and food chains, deposits itself in the body via the GI tract or the gut and is then circulated through to various organs, notoriously known for targeting bones and causing highly malignant, fatal forms of osteogenic cancer. Radium-226 has a half-life of 1 600 years.
Thorium-230 is also a member of the uranium tailings club, with a half-life of 80 000 years, Thorium is another extremely toxic substance that leaches into water tables, is absorbed and recirculated by winds and settles into the atmospheric level, contaminating rain, etc.
~ from No-nuke age all over again? ~
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