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Deserts as ideal sites -

Deserts have often been viewed as ideal locations for nuclear tests, as locations with sparse inhabitants and arid landscapes made nuclear nations believe these areas were somehow ideal.

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Blast travels far and wide -

Soon after nuclear tests commenced across the globe, it became obvious that a bomb’s composition does not just land at the explosion site, but travels far and wide.

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Saharan nuclear tests -

Throughout the 1960s, the French government conducted 17 nuclear tests in the Algerian Sahara, during their colonization of the country. Pictured is a 1960 protest in Ghana against France's nuclear tests.

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Radiation exposure -

Studies show that tens of thousands of Algerians and French soldiers were exposed to radiation following the blasts. Pictured are dummies set up for French nuclear tests in the Sahara.

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Europe's dust storms -

When Saharan dust storms clouded European skies for days in 2022, scientists conducted several tests to understand the dust's composition.

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Radioactive sand -

They found that the dust clouds contained radioactive sand. Was the legacy of France’s nuclear testing coming back to haunt it or is there more to the story?

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Samples collected -

The French research team collected 53 samples, seeking particular radioactive isotopes that would tie the radioactive dust to Algeria’s Reggane region, where France's tests were conducted. Instead, researchers found that the plutonium levels didn’t match at all.

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Surprising origins -

Surprisingly, the radioactivity in the Saharan sand that floated through Europe actually originated from US and Soviet Union nuclear tests.

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Nuclear tests in the Sahara -

But did the US and the Soviet Union conduct nuclear tests in the Sahara, too? No, they didn’t. That’s what makes this discovery particularly fascinating.

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Detonation power -

Comparatively, France's tests accounted for less than half a percentage of the detonation power of the Soviet Union and American tests.

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Isotopic ratios -

In fact, the isotopic ratios of France’s nuclear tests were 0.07, while the US and Soviet Union tests had an average ratio of 0.187. The study showed that the samples were more aligned with the latter tests. Pictured is French officer Charles Ailleret during France's second nuclear test in the Sahara.

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Tests along the same latitude -

Although neither the US nor the Soviet Union conducted tests in the Sahara, both conducted nuclear tests at the same latitude as South Algeria.

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Debris travel with wind -

The debris emitted from the explosions could hit 26,000 feet (8,000 meters). The explosive debris is not just unidirectional and also travels with wind.

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Devastation -

It may seem odd, but it is logical that the debris can originate from locations that are quite far away, also highlighting the devastating breadth of nuclear explosions. Pictured is a dive observing nuclear remnants in the Marshall Islands. 

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Citizen campaign -

A 2022 citizen participatory campaign that collected 110 samples across six Western European countries reiterated the results of the French study.

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Reggane region -

The citizen science campaign identified the origins of the dust to be from the Reggane region in Algeria, where the French conducted their nuclear tests, but also found that the samples were more in line with the detonations from the US and Soviet Union tests. Pictured are guinea pigs from the Reggane region following nuclear tests. 

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Rain dust samples from Greece -

A study conducted in 2000 which collected “rain dust” samples in Greece during a Saharan dust storm found that the radioactive nuclides originated from Chernobyl.

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Low risk -

This may sound scary; cloudy, dusty storms of radioactive sand hanging over countries for days. Yet, according to researchers, “the risk is negligible.”

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Pollution and air quality -

In fact, European soil has the same levels of radioactivity as the Saharan dust. The biggest danger that dust storms pose is the issue of pollution and air quality.

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Valley Fever -

A common condition caused by inhaling dust is Valley Fever, particularly common in the southern US states, as well as Central and South America.

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Meningitis -

Valley Fever is a condition that essentially provokes an infection caused by breathing in a fungus in the air, including bacterial meningitis.

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Irritated respiratory system -

Often, the further you are from the origin of the dust, the less likely you are to be infected. In addition to the risk of infection, the respiratory system can be irritated.

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Dust storms -

According to the European Commission, dust storms also have an impact on the atmosphere, particularly in relation to weather, climate, and solar radiation.

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Sun radiation -

Specifically, the dust can impact radiation from the sun, cooling the Earth’s surface. Yet, the dust can also absorb infrared radiation, leading to a warming effect. Oddly, dust can have both a warming and cooling effect.

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Percipitation -

Saharan dust is said to have a “moderating effect,” as the dust particles can increase precipitation given particular conditions.

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Nutrients in the Saharan dust -

Saharan dust contains important nutrients such as iron and phosphorus, as well as other organic matter, that are actually needed to fertilize oceans and seas.

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Dirty rains -

Yet increased concentrations can lead to “dirty rains” or "mud rains" that impact visibility, and the generation of solar power, and have damaging effects on machinery.

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Mediterranean region at greater risk -

The Mediterranean region is particularly at risk from the challenging conditions and problems related to dust storms, as the region is close to a number of deserts.

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Sporadic dust episodes -

The Sahel region and the Sahara Desert account for up to 70% of the world’s dust sources; 12% of which lands in Europe through sporadic dust episodes, with greater prevalence in the spring.

Sources: (IFL Science) (European Commission) (Journal of Environmental Radioactivity) (Science Adviser)

See also: Heavy rains hit the Sahara, changing the landscape

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