Radioactive contamination transported to Western Europe with Saharan dust.

ABSTRACT: The Reggane region, where the first French atmospheric nuclear tests were conducted in the 1960s in Southern Algeria, is located in one of the most active dust source regions responsible for recurrent massive Saharan dust events reaching Western Europe and affecting air quality. After a major outbreak in March 2022, a citizen participative science campaign was launched to study the radioactivity born by the dust. One hundred ten deposit samples were collected from six countries in Western Europe with 53 demonstrated as scientifically representative. Geochemical and mineralogical sample analyses combined with satellite observations and back trajectory calculations confirmed an origin from South Algeria, including the Reggane site. Plutonium isotopic signatures, a unique nuclear bomb fingerp

SUBMITTER: Xu-Yang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11784833 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature