It seems like the world is going to hell these days. We're all on edge with murder hornets, natural disasters, pandemics, and the threat of a world-destroying war. What happened to the good old days when all we had to worry about were things like rampant street crime and radiation? Well, fear not! It's time to relax with a nerve-calming list of things you never realized were just a little bit radiating in your everyday life.
10. Brazil nuts
Brazil nuts may never reach the lofty heights of almonds or pecans in most people's eyes, but they do contain some essential nutrients and can help balance blood sugar levels for diabetics. So that's a good thing, right? On the other hand, eating too many of them will expose you to relatively high levels of radiation, thanks to the nuts' high radium content.
Your average Brazil nut is about 1000 times More radioactive than anything else you're likely to eat. It sounds scary, but in context, it doesn't really matter. If you eat a handful a day, you'll be fine. Just keep it within reason, as something like 50 nuts a day will become toxic.
The trees on which the Brazil nut grows have massive root system . They travel deep and far and are capable of absorbing large amounts of naturally occurring radium. Interestingly, the nuts are among the least dangerous parts of the tree, as the leaves and bark have even higher concentrations, should you ever be tempted to eat another part of the tree.
9. Spark plugs
Spark plugs are something few of us ever think about until a mechanic tells us we need new ones. Then there's a brief moment of panic until you learn they cost about $20 and take a couple of minutes to replace, and then you're back to not caring about them. And that's a shame, because at least for a while, you could end up with radioactive spark plugs for no apparent reason.
Firestone once produced spark plugs with polonium electrodes . Now you might be wondering, is polonium dangerous? Well, according to science, it's more toxic than hydrogen cyanide. How so, right? More precisely, in 250 billion times more toxic. This is many times more.
Polonium-210 has a half-life of about 138 days, so today all those spark plugs are inert, but hopefully the people who made them had some kind of safeguards in place at the factory.
The idea behind the plus was that perhaps the radiation would help improve performance , making it easier for the spark to cross the gap? It's hard to say for sure, because the science doesn't really make sense, and that's one of several reasons you don't see these plugs on the market today.
8. Seagulls
Some people absolutely hate seagulls. They're some of the most brazen birds in the world, and they can really ruin a day at the beach if you skip the snacks or if they decide to circle overhead and make a mess in your area. On the other hand, they do a lot of good, keeping beaches clean. And, depending on where you live, they can also be radioactive.
On the Cumbrian coast of England, you'll find the Sellafield nuclear facility, home to hundreds of units, where a serious accident occurred in the 1950s. It's being decommissioned very slowly and is considered one of the world's most dangerous nuclear power plants. the most polluted places throughout Europe.
Stray cats and mice were everywhere at Sellafield, but so were seagulls, and there are fears that they are splashing in plutonium pools and nuclear waste. Why are there open plutonium pools at Sellafield? Well, that's a good question. Let's move on.
Back in 2005 they were culling seagulls and kept them in the freezer on site. In 2014, photographs showed that they still floating in radioactive pools on the spot. Even in 2018 There have been reports of efforts being made to combat radiation damage to food sources in and around Sellafield, indicating ongoing efforts to control seagulls in the area through culling and egg destruction.
7. Bananas
Everyone knows that if you want to increase your potassium levels, you should eat a banana, although in potatoes In reality, there's a lot more potassium, but that's not important. But maybe you don't want too many potatoes, because it's that potassium that makes bananas slightly radioactive.
The specific culprit is potassium-40, natural isotope potassium, which you'll find in a banana, gives you a little boost with every delicious bite. Tiny, of course, is the key word here. You need to eat 1000 bananas , to receive a radiation dose equivalent to an X-ray. And since potassium is essential for our bodies to survive, it's naturally regulated, and barring illness, your body will never have more than you need, so radioactive potassium can't accumulate.
6. Beaches of Guarapari
If you head to southeast Brazil, you'll find Espírito Santo, home to the infamous Guarapari beaches. Doctors once boasted of the health benefits of visiting the beach because healing properties mysterious sand. The sand was saturated with a mineral called monazite, and monazite was saturated with radioactive thorium.
As late as the 1970s, people were still willing to believe doctors when they said radiation could cure arthritis, so tourists flocked to beaches that were about as radioactive as a chest X-ray. While the tourism industry still subscribes to these ideas, no one is advised to stay on the beach for too long due to gamma radiation. radiation, which they can absorb.
5. Toothpaste
Medicine has a long, troubling relationship with radiation. There was a time when people were convinced that the more radiation they could get into their bodies, the better. There were radioactive tinctures and tonics, and, yes, even toothpaste.
Doramad toothpaste from Germany contained thorium. According to the label, this radiation will help increase protection your teeth and gums. The thorium used was extracted from monazite , the same sand that was taken from Guarapari beach, and the toothpaste was produced by the same company.
Radiation levels were generally low, and it's unlikely anyone was harmed by using toothpaste. However, if you ever have the opportunity, please avoid using radioactive toothpaste.
4. Wild boars
Wild boars in the USA cause damage annually approximately 1.5 billion dollars . It sounds terrible, but it might be better than the wild boar problem people have to deal with in parts of Asia and Europe. The damage is extensive, but at least these wild pigs aren't radioactive.
In the Czech Republic, wild boars are a popular source of meat. Unfortunately, due to the Chernobyl disaster, boars are absorbing increasing amounts of radiation. When Chernobyl melted down, was released into the atmosphere many cesium-137 . Eventually, it settled in the Šumava Mountains and the soil. The truffles eventually absorb the radiation, and wild boars hunt and eat the truffles.
In Japan, after residents fled the Fukushima nuclear disaster, wild boars moved into the area and began breeding with escaped domestic pigs. This led to a large population. radioactive pigs and wild boars effectively seized the territory and made it difficult for people to return.
As in Europe, the meat is considered a delicacy, but it's too dangerous to eat. Some samples contain cesium-137 levels 300 times higher than safety standards.
3. Ceramics for the holidays
Have you ever heard of Fiestaware? It's a brand of glazed ceramic tableware with a history dating back to the 1930s. It's still in production today and is arguably the most popular Chinese brand made in America.
As early as the 1930s, Fiestaware came in several colors, part of the glazing process. Red Fiestaware was the most popular, but also the most expensive. This was due to the fact that to achieve the red hue, a special color was used. added to the mixture uranium oxide . And this led to radioactive cookware. As with other radioactive materials at the time, there was no immediate risk, as the levels were considered low. However, there's a difference between a radioactive spark plug and a salad bowl.
Over time, concerns arose that repeated use, particularly exposure to things like scratches from silverware and etching from acidic foods, could leach radioactive compounds from glaze and getting them inside. And swallowing uranium is much worse than simply holding it.
Eventually, the radioactive glaze was discontinued and replaced with something safer, but a large number of products were sold with it included.
2. US Capitol
Almost everything in the world is a little radioactive, and we've seen that sometimes it's not even worth worrying about. Everyone should still enjoy bananas whenever they want. But, as we've also seen, some things are just weirdly more radioactive than they should be. Or at least more radioactive than we expected.
The US Capitol building is one such example of something much more radioactive than you might think. It's made made of granite , and this granite won't stand up to scrutiny today. That's because it contains a large amount of uranium . Radiation levels in 65 times higher EPA standards. For some additional context: inside the Capitol, you will be exposed to radiation levels that are 550 times higher , than the fence of a nuclear power plant.
Again, this doesn't mean Congress is on the verge of turning into glowing green zombies, but it does mean a 0.5 percent increase in cancer risk.
1. Primo Flat Fix
New York City covers over 300 square miles and is home to nearly 9 million people. And in all of this space, among all these people, there is one place that holds the dubious title of being the most radioactive place in all of New York City. And that place is tire service .
Believe it or not, this takes us back to those beaches in Brazil and that radioactive toothpaste from the Nazi era. You see, Primo's auto body shop is located on the site where chemical company Wolf-Alport . They once did the same thing as the Germans, with Brazilian sand or similar materials. They purified monazite to extract rare earth metals, and in the process, they obtained thorium and uranium as byproducts.
Thorium was useful for a while, but not always. Before and after World War II, thorium was essentially trash. They literally flushed it down the toilet or simply buried it. During the war, it was useful for weapons, which was important because the company ramped up production during that period. Then, when the need for it waned, Wolff-Alport had additional stockpiles that proved useless. So they dumped it again. And dumped it right there.
Unlike some of the things we've mentioned, Primo isn't in the "no-worry" zone. The Environmental Protection Agency actually had to come to the site and install thick steel and iron plates over the lead in the ground to try to provide temporary protection from exposure.
Workers at the store are exposed to triple the safe dose of radiation each year, and the EPA is said to be planning to demolish the entire area.