Good News! Our Steel is No Longer Radioactive!
These environmental improvements mean we no longer need to cannibalize old warships
Question: how much is the armor plating from an old, sunken WWI-or-earlier battleship worth, if you dredge it up?
Answer: less money than it used to, and that’s a great thing!
See, at the second half of the twentieth century, humanity accidentally polluted our atmosphere, which led to all of our steel becoming radioactive. Whoops. Not intentional, but it raised a ton of problems.
But in the last few years, we have finally reached a decreased pollution level that allows us to make non-radioactive steel again! Good news!
For most of us, this is probably all news to us. “What?” I said, a few days ago in shock. “My toaster is radioactive?”
Yes, it is. As is most other metal in my house that wasn’t made in the last few years. So, read on, and I’ll answer for you:
- How does steel become radioactive, and why is this a problem?
- How did this terrifying prospect get fixed?
- What devices depend on this? Do we need to replace all the steel in our houses?
Let’s learn!
