News
Publish date: September 15, 2008
News
The travelers purchased what was described as an unusual rock weighing 274 kilograms in Kyrgyzstan, which the three described among themselves as a “glowing marvel.”
Upon their return home, the tourists decided to find out what their unusual souvenir was made of, and broke a piece of the rock off and sent it to geologists at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, who revealed that the power of the “glowing wonder” was depleted uranium and called the police straight away.
The souvenir was confiscated from the travelers, but the were not sent to jail for carrying contraband uranium, as it was clear they were in the dark about their glowing marvel, the Chinese Daily said.
All three underwent medical examinations at a local clinic and were found to be clear of radiation sickness, RIA Novosti reported.
But their close contact with uranium ore could result in other health difficulties. Uranium emits alpha radiation and alpha rays are especially dangerous should the radioactive substance be ingested. By-products of uranium decay, such as radon, also present dangers.
Recent attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant "mark the beginning of a new and gravely dangerous front of the war," the UN atomic agency's director general said last week.
After years of inaction, Germany is working on its Carbon Management Strategy to resolve how CCS can play a role in climate action in industry. At the end of February, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action published first key points and a proposal to amend the law Kohlenstoffdioxid Speicherungsgesetz (KSpG). Bellona Deutschland, who was actively involved in the previous stakeholder dialogue submitted a statement in the association hearing.
In the midst of a global discussion on whether natural gas should be used as a transitional fuel and whether emissions from its extraction, production, transport and use are significantly less than those from other fossil fuels, Russia has developed ambitious plans to increase its own production of liquified natural gas (LNG) in the Arctic – a region with 75% of proven gas reserves in Russia – to raise its share in the international gas trade.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our main focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution risks and climate change.