After the mysterious Skyfall explosion in Russia .. What do you know about nuclear radiation and its risks?

Worried after a mysterious "nuclear" accident involving a missile test in northern Russia last week that temporarily raised radiation levels, US President Donald Trump said the explosion "worried people about the air around the facility and beyond, and that's not a good thing." .

Russia's weather agency said on Tuesday it believed radiation levels had risen from four to 16 times, while Greenpeace raised its estimate to about 20 times.

The Defense Ministry initially said radiation remained at normal levels after the incident, but authorities in the northern city of Severodvinsk said a rise in radiation levels had occurred briefly.

The town of Severodvinsk is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the base where the blast occurred.

But what about nuclear radiation and what are the risks?

Nuclear radiation
Nuclear radiation is a physical phenomenon and a strong natural atomic activity occurs inside the atoms of heavy elements atomic, in which the atomic nucleus loses some of its particles and turns the atom of the element to another element or to another isotope of the same element.

Catastrophic effects
The history of nuclear contamination dates back to the end of World War II, when the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, killing and maiming most of its inhabitants, and even those who survived have suffered the effects of nuclear radiation throughout their lives.

Nuclear contamination is not limited to what is caused by deliberate nuclear explosions. Rather, such contamination occurs unintentionally as a result of radiation leaks from nuclear power reactors when fires or explosions occur.

The damage caused by such accidents depends on the proximity of the affected area to the center of the explosion or nuclear leakage, and those exposed to serious conditions, including symptoms of skin ruptures and vomiting, nausea and internal and external bleeding, symptoms that often end in death within a short period.

In relatively distant areas of the leak center, excess radiation may lead to a slow nuclear poisoning whose symptoms do not appear until several years later, often resulting in certain cancers.

Radioactive materials
The most important radioactive material produced by explosion or nuclear fission are:

1 - krypton gas: It affects the entire human body and causes leukemia, and may continue to affect about twenty years after the explosion or nuclear fission.

2 - iodine element that escalates from the nuclear explosion gas, which is often absorbed from the thyroid gland. It can be eliminated by certain drugs.

3 - Strchium element: It is similar to the elements of calcium and barium, and its impact is often focused on the bone Vsibha cancer, may continue to affect about 56 years.

4 - cesium: It affects the whole body, especially muscles, liver and spleen, and may continue its effect sixty years.

Damage to nuclear pollution is not limited to its direct effects on human life and health, but also to contaminate or poison all aspects of the environment in which it lives - water, food, soil, rocks, clothing, tools and others.

The exposure of the organism to nuclear radiation affects the atoms that make up the molecules of the human body, leading to the destruction of these tissues, threatening the life of the organism.

The degree of risk from these radiation depends on several factors, including their type, amount of energy and time of exposure.

Biological effects
The radiation has two types of biological effects.

The second is the genetic impact of successive generations.This was clearly demonstrated by the Japanese after the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in September 1945, resulting in thousands of deaths, burns and deformities, and the grandsons' fatal serious illnesses.

Disposal of nuclear waste
Nuclear waste is disposed of in a variety of ways, depending on the strength of its radiation.

Waste with strong radiation is placed in the water to cool it and then buried at deep depths in the ground and in places far from urbanization.

A modern method to dispose of strong nuclear waste is stored in porcelain or glass insulation material Borosilkat, mixing waste with calcified material, then melted at high temperature, and the mixture is poured into stainless steel containers and buried at great depths Underground with caution, where they remain a prolonged source of danger.