These are the five that have the highest levels of radioactivity on the planet and where, despite everything, the people who live there maintain relative good health.
Guarapari (Brazil)
The Atlantic beaches that go from Rio de Janeiro to Salvador de Bahia, more than 700 km , are radioactive. The source is monazite, a type of phosphate mineral that contains thorium and is very common in the mountains that feed sand to the beaches in the area. In the Guarapari area, between Rio and Bahia, the readings are very close to the permitted exposure limit for nuclear plant workers.
Ramsar (Iran)
This city on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea is famous for having the highest natural radiation levels on the planet, 80 times higher than the planet’s average and 60% higher than the maximum allowed for workers in nuclear companies. Interestingly, the studies carried out on the 2000 people who live in the areas of greatest exposure show a lung cancer rate slightly below the world average, at the same time as a significantly higher expression of the CD69 gene (responsible for the production of blood cells). white cells) and NK cells (a particular type of lymphocyte).
Paralana Springs, Arkaroola (Australia)
Located in the Arkaroola Natural Wildlife Sanctuary, in the northern part of the Flinders Mountains in South Australia, near Adelaide, they are characterized by water that has circulated through uranium-rich rocks for a billion years. Refilling the canteen there is not something that is highly recommended …
Yangjiang (China)
The people of this city that is located in the Guangdong province, south of China, build their houses with bricks made of sand and clay. The problem is that in this area the sand, as in the beaches of Guarapari in Brazil, contains monazite which, incorporated into mortar and bricks, turns the walls of houses into powerful radioactive sources of radio, radon and actinium. The people who live there receive three times the global average radiation but, as in other similar places, this is not reflected in a higher incidence of cancers. In fact, studies conducted since 1970 show that cancer mortality in the population is even lower than in other places where natural radioactivity is within the world average.
Karunagappally (India)
Karunagappally, a municipality in the Kollam district of Kerala, in southwestern India, has been inhabited since time immemorial and today its inhabitants exceed 600,000. The area is also found with rocks that contain monazite, which causes its inhabitants to receive more than 12 times the average dose of radiation . But neither has a higher incidence of cancer been found among its inhabitants.
