![]() Alpha and beta particles can settle in the hair and skin, causing deep and painful burns. ![]() Alpha particles are sometimes visible to the naked eye: flakes of nuclear fallout, ashes of vaporized debris. Military officials did not expect that civilians would understand radiation’s transitive properties, or that it enters the body in three different ways. The last of these “hot” ships was scrapped in 1997, lending an impression that the problem had been solved. People working and living near the shipyards unknowingly lived in the shadow of a mushroom cloud. ![]() Scrubbing their hulls did not vanish the toxins. Since metal exposed to ionizing radiation itself becomes radioactive, or “hot,” the fallout wasn’t limited to the South Pacific. It’s why fallout shelters were often lead-lined lead is the only metal that resists harmful ionizing rays. Like a paperclip briefly magnetized by your favorite fridge décor, metal can be irradiated, except it doesn’t wear off so quickly. Those that weren’t were tugged back to American shores, through the Golden Gate, and parked at Treasure Island. Many ships were atomized in the explosions or sunk by the ensuing shockwaves. History calls them “ atomic veterans.” The veterans call themselves Guinea pigs. Soldiers returned home with radiation burns, latent cancers, missing teeth. These fearsome displays of heat, power, and hubris inflicted permanent psychological damage and more. The exercise, which Rebecca Solnit called a rehearsal for the end of the world, was intended to toughen their skins. Miles out of danger, high-ranking military officers had stationed their soldiers aboard ships on the fringes of the blast zone. A handful of naval ships were anchored in staggered proximity to the infamous Bikini Atoll tests. Throughout the 1940’s and into the fifties, the United States government triggered dozens of air, surface, and underwater nuclear explosions. San Francisco glimmers across the Bay from Treasure Island at night. I worked there so I was being affected by it, too.” A troubled past I am offended that they are poisoned from instruments of war. Most residents are poor and people of color, some formerly homeless. “While working on Treasure Island I became familiar with the residents, and part of my job was to protect them. Before I knew the island was contaminated, I tracked toxins into my home.” “The company did not inform me I was walking in radioactive areas or prepare me with special shoes or safety equipment. “During my first five months working, I was pregnant,” William told investigative reporter Carol Harvey of SF BayView. 25-year-old Asia William of Oakland, California, patrolled Treasure Island as a security enforcer. The Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum yearly dose allowed in the water supply is 4 mrem.įlight attendants do not develop health issues like those of TI residents and workers. The annual dose for a resident working eight hours a day off the island was 29.3 mrem in one location. A six-hour flight from the East to West Coast exposes you to ~3.5 millirems, less you receive from a chest x-ray (10 mrem). Laypeople and city officials like to claim the ionizing radiation one absorbs on a cross-country flight is more hazardous than residing on Treasure Island. ![]() Children and teenagers are known to disregard such warnings, oblivious to the impact of their play. Not everyone is aware of their potential lethality. See also: city officials move low-income residents to Treasure Island despite known health hazardsĪll around the former naval base, sites remain fenced off due to the health hazards radiation poses. Of these, plutonium has the longest half-life, meaning it will keep giving off deadly ionizing radiation for 24,000 more years. Radionuclides of concern include cesium-137, radium-226, thorium-232, strontium-90 and plutonium-239. Residue scrubbed from naval ships intentionally exposed to atomic detonations continues to emit radiation. Radioactive materials reside in the soil and sand, leftovers from the dawn of the nuclear age. Revamping Treasure Island has been a slow-going project with many roadblocks. Over three thousand people live on its hazardous surface, with space for more in the works. The deal is the first breakthrough in a series of false starts for the beleaguered artificial island. 8,000 apartments, 300,000 ft2 of retail space, 500 hotel rooms, and 300 “open space” acres comprise the development. The new tower, slated for completion by 2024, is the first of six mixed-use highrises planned for the contaminated landmass. ![]() Photo by Managing Editor Alex Mak.ĭangerous ground was broken on Treasure Island for a twenty-two-story highrise. From Treasure Island, the San Francisco skyline silhouetted in late afternoon sunlight. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |