We have contaminated the atmosphere with trace amounts of radioactivity with detonations of atom bombs starting in 1945 and that contamination risks our ability to build sensors to detect this same, small amount of radiation.

All steel made since the detonation of the first atom bomb in 1945 has contained tiny amounts of radioactivity. This is because the atmosphere now contains trace amounts of radioactivity. The steelmaking process involves the use of large amounts of air, which transfers the radioactivity to the steel. Instruments and equipment used for measuring radioactivity must be free from extra background radiation, so post-1945 “new” steel cannot be used for these purposes. Instead, pre-1945 “clean” steel is used.

Salvaging WWII German U-Boats that were scuttled at Scapa Flow

tags:radiation steel

Written by admin (contact).

It was written on August 4th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Filed in the Category science