[thedoc (OP)]

On the 16th of July 1945, the project code name Trinity was put into action.  Trinity was the first test of an atomic bomb, the first nuclear weapon.   Sixty five years on, the test site is hard to access and rarely visited, but journalist and author David Wolman risked the radiation to find out more about this historic site.
Read a transcript of the interview by clicking here

or [chapter podcast=2745 track=10.07.18/Naked_Scientists_Show_10.07.18_6722.mp3] Listen to it now[/chapter] or [download as MP3]

[Geezer]

...and it's not much more radioactive than Aberdeen!

[LeeE]

I'm not sure that saying the Trinity Test Site is 'hard' to access is the right way to put - it has open days where the public can visit it, but these open days only occur twice a year (wikipedia reckons they're on the first Saturdays of April and October).

The wikipedia article also says that the residual radiation level is about ten times 'normal' and a one hour visit to the site would give you about half of your 'normal' daily dose.  Note that 'normal' isn't quantified here though.

Places located on granite will have higher than 'normal' levels of radiation and as there is some granite around Aberdeen, Geezer's comment might be close to the truth.

[Geezer]

Places located on granite will have higher than 'normal' levels of radiation and as there is some granite around Aberdeen, Geezer's comment might be close to the truth.

I believe Aberdeen has about double the average level for the UK. A lot of it comes from the buildings. Grey granite was a common building material there, hence the handle - "The Granite City".

[ori]

The story is really nice (I like the "sooo sunny" aspect of it). There is, however, one point I don't understand: how can a desertic site become one of the richest spots in terms of biodiversity (even if left alone for 60 years)?

[LeeE]

Places located on granite will have higher than 'normal' levels of radiation and as there is some granite around Aberdeen, Geezer's comment might be close to the truth.

I believe Aberdeen has about double the average level for the UK. A lot of it comes from the buildings. Grey granite was a common building material there, hence the handle - "The Granite City".

Aha! - I hadn't thought of that.