World Oceans Day 2018: Regulating Lead and Mercury Releases has Decreased Marine Pollution, IAEA Research Shows

The levels of lead and mercury in the sea reduce noticeably following concrete actions to limit their release, recent research at the IAEA using nuclear techniques has shown. The banning of leaded petrol and the closure of a mercury discharging plant have led to decreases in pollution levels over 10-15 years.

Human activities including industry and agriculture can have a significant impact on the marine environment due to the release of pollutants into the sea. The new research has demonstrated that after government regulation put an end to certain environmentally unfriendly practices, pollution trends in the sea can be reversed. Read more.

IAEA identifies environmental contamination sources through isotopes

The identification of sources of environmental contamination can be done by an isotopic abundance, an isotopic ratio analysis.

Isotopes are an invaluable tool in geochemistry, but also for modern environmental forensics. For example, sediment cores can be dated using different radioactive isotopes of lead and their decay product. In the present study, the age of the different sediment depths was established based on the ratio of one of the radiogenic isotopes of lead and its decay product using a gamma counter. Read more.

Ukrainian children are drinking radioactive milk

More than 30 years later, not even the milk near the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site is safe.

A study published in science journal Environment International shows that children are drinking milk 12 times more radioactive than what the Ukrainian government deems acceptable, even though they live up to 140 miles from where the catastrophe happened. But it's not as if these families, who live in a poor, rural area, are oblivious to the problem.

"These people know that the milk is unsafe, but they tell us, 'We don’t have a choice, we have to feed our families,'" the study's principal author told The New York Times. Read more.

ORNL 3D Prints Radioactive Isotopes to Diagnose America's Surging Heart Conditions

For the first time in around 30 years, radioactive isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) has been produced in the United Sates – 3D printed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

Vital to the production of the most commonly used radio-imaging isotope in modern medicine, the 3D printed Mo-99 presents an important step towards commercial production of the material for U.S. healthcare.

It is also a crucial part of an international effort to limit the production of highly enriched uranium (HEU) – an element that has created widespread concern due to its use in nuclear weapons, and ability to fly under the radar. Read more.

Where humanity first caused lasting environmental change: new study

VANCOUVER—Ancient agricultural activity more than 2,000 years ago is the tipping point where humanity first began to cause environmental change, according to a new study.

The findings — discovered by a team of international researchers led by the University of British Columbia — point to increased intensity of deforestation and farming practices during the Bronze Age in Ireland. This affected the world’s nitrogen cycle, which is a process that keeps the essential element circulating between the atmosphere, land and oceans. Read more.