1. The Context The radioactive exposure happened in Goiânia, capital of Goiás, in Brazil. The city is located in the middle west of Brazil and is close to the capital of the country, Brasília, as we can see in picture 1 above. Goiania have many farms, for both cereal and cattle. The mean annual temperature is 21.9°C, but can reach more than 30°C in summer, and the climate is humid with an annual rainfall of 1700 mm. Picture 1: Map of Brazil showing the contaminated area in Goiânia Source: International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1988 Goiania is a large city with a population of 1,302,001 people in 2010, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The neighborhood where the accident happened was one of the poorest areas of the city, with limited education from the population. 2. History of the Problem …show more content…
Without knowing that this object was use in the radiotherapy institute, the Institute Goiano of Radiotherapy, the owner of the junkyard bought it and opened it. Inside he found a white power that in the dark shine in blue color. He was enchant by the blue glow emitted by the substance and decided to show it to his family, friends and part of the neighborhood. All believed they were facing something supernatural and some even took samples to their homes. The display of fluorescent powder took four days, and increased the risk area because the radiotherapy equipment also sold to another junkyard, spreading even more the radioactive material throw the
In the early 1900’s, the discovery of a luminescent material, radium, arrived on the scene to the delight of a fascinated and eager public. At first, it seemed to be a miracle remedy, not just harmless but even beneficial. However, when a multitude of watch dial painters were exposed to this substance on an extremely consistent basis, the negative effects began bubbling to the surface. These “Radium Girls” were unknowingly consuming a potentially lethal substance and would be the first victims of radium poisoning and radioactivity. Not many people knew about the dangers of radioactive substances or radium poisoning and many others had made judgements that were clouded by the perfection of the glowing sensation. In spite of this, the horrific afflictions that the Radium Girls endured helped shift the public perspective of radium from “wonder drug” to “pitiless poison” and started the country on a path to regulating the handling of radioactive
Brazil has a population of 208,664,000 people, contributing to 2.74 % of the overall world’s population. Brazil’s large population ranks it as the sixth most populated country in the world. The population growth rate is 0.73 percent which has been declining since 1960 due to the significant infertility rate. Half of Brazil’s population is categorized as middle class, but a high level of crime, especially in major cities, still remains. The majority of the population reside near the Atlantic Coast in cities like San Paolo and Rio de Janeiro.
The Federative Republic of Brazil is the fifth largest country by geographical area in South America. Currently, “Brazil has a population of over 207 million making it the 5th largest country in the world”(IBGE, 2017). Brasilia is the capital, and Sao Paulo is the largest city in Brazil with population over 11 million people.
In the early 1900’s radium was “the latest miracle substance” (Hersher & Blum, 2014). Salesmen promised that it extended lifespans, increased sex drive, made women more beautiful, and had many other fantastic effects. The world was infatuated with radium and displayed this by putting it in slews of items including face cream, bread, chocolate, suppositories, toy sets for children, drinking water (as shown in figure 1), toothpaste, watch faces, and many more products. (List from scribal.com, 2007) It was used often in pharmaceuticals and described by advertisers as “nature’s way to health.” “Doctors used it to treat everything from colds to cancer.” (Hersher & Blum, 2014) However, the “magical” substance that was radium turned out to
Did you know “1 in 3 seniors die with Alzheimer's or another form of Dementia and every 66 seconds someone in the United States develops the disease” said by the Alzheimer’s
Over the next several years, (during the 1920s) many of the factory workers became very ill and exhibited symptoms such as severe anemia, extreme joint pain, and disintegrating jaws (Carter, 2007, p. 2). Radium is an incredibly unstable element, and thus it has a very short half-life. A half-life is the time it takes for half the original amount of the element to decay to another element, and because Radium-226 (its most common isotope) has a half life of only 1600 years, it is highly radioactive . Additionally, radium’s chemical properties resemble those of calcium, so when the young factory workers ingested the element, it made its way into their bones, where it would then decay and release alpha particles (large particles emitted from helium atoms), gamma rays (high speed light radiation) and beta particles (fast moving electrons) into nearby bones (Quigley, 2002). This ultimately caused extreme bone decay, as well as bone cancers in many instances. Because of this, radium can be classified as a carcinogen. Although alpha particles are not strong enough to penetrate flimsy substances such as paper, they are dangerous when ingested because tissue inside the body can receive high levels of ionizing radiation. As this reaction is taking place, alpha particles are being emitted as a helium atom gains two new protons (thus increasing its atomic number), and the atom’s mass subsequently increases by
I live in Goiânia, a major capital located in the midwest of Brazil and is also located in the center of Goiás state.
Fukushima is the capital city of the Fukushima Prefecture. Its rich cultural background, along with its beautiful landscapes, made this part of Japan a very attractive place for not only locals but tourists to visit. Many of its features invited people to explore, and find out more about the ancient empire that ruled centuries prior (http://fukushima.com/before-the-crisis-a-brief-history-of-fukushima/). But in 2011, everything changed. A 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific coast of Tohoku, Japan, arguably the worst to ever hit Japan, and made this once not so known city the most ubiquitous in the world. The earthquake was so immense that it triggering a tsunami that caused the main island, Honshu, to shift more than two meters to the east. More than 20,000 people died or went missing, and thousands lost their homes. But what may be the worst of all these unfortunate events is the disaster that happened at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (Fk-1) of the Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO). The Tsunami flooded the nuclear plant causing the malfunction in its equipment and infrastructure. The disaster resulted in deadly radiation leakage “the Japanese Science Ministry reported that long-lived radioactive cesium had contaminated 11,580 square miles of the land surface of Japan. Some 4,500 square miles – an area
Trends of monitored, exposed radiation workers, collective doses, annual average dose, exposed annual average dose of medical, industry and research during the year 1999 to 2008 are discussed in detail.
Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil; located on the southeast coast on the strip of land known as the Atlantic Coast. The city of Rio is approximately 1,200,000 square kilometers with a domestic population of 6,430,000 living in the Rio area with a high homeless population of 5000 (Brazilian Census, 2013). Rio is a tropical paradise with historic sites, white beaches, green belts of rainforests, surfing hot spots and a jubilant attitude and culture that both the locals and tourists embrace, have made Rio de Janeiro what it is today – ‘a world where heaven meets the earth’ (Travel Information & Guide, 2015).
According to Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) estimate of radioactivity releases, 520,000 terabecquerels (TBq) of iodine-131, caesium-134 and caesium-137 was released into the atmosphere between 12 and 31 March 2011.That affect the places nearby Fukushima immediately and those residents who live in Fukushima need to move away that may affect economic and society.On the other hand, The Fukushima Daiichi disaster caused radiation dust release to the different places like China, Hong Kong, Northern America, and Northern Europe. Even those places detected very little radiation like Iodine-131 and Caesium-137, those little radiations do not affect residents in other countries. But those information may cause residents who live in other countries afraid.
Resultantly, radionuclide contaminated the NPP area and the surrounding areas. The Japanese Science Ministry reported that long-lived radioactive cesium had contaminated 11,580 square miles of the land surface of Japan.
Stretching over 2,500 miles form east to west and 2,700 miles from north to south, Brazil is the world’s largest tropical country. The only nations that are larger are the lands of Russia, Canada, China and the United States. Brazil has more then 150 million people spread unevenly over its huge land area, making it the fifth most populated country in the world. (Encyclopedia.com) More then two thirds of Brazil’s people live in the cities and towns and more then 29 percent of them are in the ten cities with more then a million people. These include the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo with more then 15 million people and Rio de Janeiro with more then 9 million people. The rural population is mostly concentrated on the East Coast or
Just five years before its construction, the area resembled a desert, with no people, scarce water, few animals and plants(About Brasilia, 2012). The city has become a
Many villages and homes were destroyed completely in this event. Moreover, the houses which were located in the radiological evacuation zone can not be used anymore (Dhitinut Ratnapradipa PhD, Ruffing & Victor White MS, 2012). Local government set emergency point to settle affected people. Additionally, waste disposal is an important issue during this event. The majority of waste carried harmful bacteria with mud and dirt, and polluted with PCBs or asbestos (Makinen, 2011). Disposal may also contribute to the reproduction of insects and other pests, posting a threat to residents’ health. Another problem is a large amount of waste, more than 80 million tons, exceeded the capacity of disposal landfills. Thus, the government had to find somewhere else to deal with this concern, which absolutely delay the transport of waste. In addition, controlling disease vector in emergency shelters posted a threat to public health. The storage of food and water and the delay of waste could contribute to the reproduction of insects and pests, which may become vectors of communicable diseases (Dhitinut Ratnapradipa PhD, Ruffing & Victor White MS, 2012). Moreover, the nuclear accident in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant can be seen as a radiation disaster. However, the employees of this power plant had to keep working for addressing the issue of damaged nuclear reactors. As a result, these staffs received radiation directly when they worked in this power plant. Some of them were