Hundreds of nuclear bombs were fired decades ago, dust coming out of them still flying: Research

Last update:07 February, 2025, 10:55 IST

Nuclear Arms in Cold War: During the Cold War, there was a competition to raise more and more nuclear weapons in the world. Thousands of nuclear tests were done. The dust from those bombs still flows over the Sahara Desert.

In March 2022, there was a dust on western Europe. This dusty thunderstorm arose from the Sahara Desert. Scientists found a shocking thing within that dust. It contained radioactive excerpts from the US and Soviet Union (USSR) nuclear tests held in the 1950s and 1960s. This has been revealed by the analysis of a research team of France’s Paris-Saclay University. This dust had mild marks of radioactivity, but this level was much lower than the dangerous limit. This study suggests that the effect of nuclear tests remains in our environment even after decades.

How was this revealed?

Sahara’s dust storms often reach Europe. In the earlier studies, it was revealed that Dust arises from the Reggane region of Algeria where France conducted its first nuclear tests in the 1960s. After the thunderstorm of March 2022, 110 samples were collected and analyzed from six countries under a Civilian-Cerence Project.

Scientists found that the radioactive signatures in the dust did not match the French nuclear tests. Instead, these signatures were the same, which spread worldwide due to nuclear tests during the cold war. In 50s and 60s, the US and Soviet Union conducted hundreds of nuclear tests. These tests were done in deserts, oceans, islands and forests.

Is this radiation dangerous?

The research team found that the radioactive elements present in this dust were far below the Dangerous level. These were only 0.02% of the fixed standard. That is, there is no major threat to the health of common people.