Page 16 - Professorial Lecture - Prof Oyedele

Nuclear tests conducted by other countries

Nuclear explosions or tests conducted by one country could raise the level
of radiation in countries close to the test area. Many people can still
remember the nuclear tests conducted in Algeria (in the Sahara desert) by
another country in the 1960.

Dirty bombs

The explosion of a bomb or device that combines radioactive material with
conventional explosives - the so-called dirty bombs - may lead to higher
levels of radiation. Such weapons could be made by terrorists and the
purpose of the dirty bomb is to contaminate the area where the explosion
occurs with radioactive materials.

Acquisition and operation of nuclear power reactor & transportation and
storage of nuclear waste

The acquisition and operation of nuclear reactors and the process of storing
nuclear waste could potentially lead to higher levels of radiation. A nuclear
reactor could accidentally release radiation into the environment or be
targeted for a terrorist attack, and the nuclear waste produced will be
emitting radiation or be hazardous for many years.

Natural radionuclides in the soil

If the concentration of radionuclides in the soil of a particular area is high, it
could lead to a higher level of radiation in the area. In fact, there are some
well-known areas in different parts of the world where the concentrations of
radionuclides are high thus making them high background radiation areas.
Such places are Ramsar in Iran and Palong, Johor in Malaysia (Ghiassi-nejad
et al., 2002; Ramli et al., 2005). I will talk more on this factor during this lecture.