dec 2, 1949 - Green Run

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On December 2 1949 the US government carried out a secret experiment at the Hanford nuclear side in Washington known as the green run. T the beginning of the cold war americans officials were worried about soviet nuclear development and wanted to know whether redioactive releses could be detected from long distances. To test this nucleus ful was processed after cooling for only 16 days instead of the usual several month and safety filters were deliberately turned off. That caused a large cloud of radio active material to be released into the air. Most of it was iodine-131, a radioactive substance that is particularly dangerous because it enters humans body through air or food and concentrates in the thyroid gland. The wind was carrying the radioactive cloud across parts Washington and origin and the people who lived there where getting exposed without a warning.
The green run was only a small act to a bigger story which one is still affecting the usa today. The Hanfort got one of the most unsafe nuclear locations in the country with 56 millions gallons of radioactive waste which one is stored in in the underground tanks. It would cost billions of dollars to clean everything up.

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