Middle East Conflict: Can Iran’s nuclear sites be toxic? Experts weigh risk after us and Israeli attacks

As the US and Israeli aerial attacks tear through Iran’s major nuclear infrastructure, international attention is reaching a distance, shifting to a distant question: Are these attacks triggering nuclear contamination risks throughout the region?US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Iran’s most firm atomic sites, including Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, were “fully” in coordinated military attacks. While Iran denies the presence of nuclear weapons on sites, many of them are central for the country’s uranium enrichment program.So far, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not detected increased radiation levels outside the affected areas. But experts warned that this does not mean that there is no danger.Which sites were hit and what do they have?US strike targeted:

The previous Israeli strike also hit Arak (Khondab), a site under construction and other centrifuge hubs in Tehran and Karj.While most of these sites were not actively running the reactors, they included a toxic chemical compound used in uranium hexfloride (UF6), uranium enrichment.Chemical, not radiological but still dangerousExperts have been emphasized: attacks on enhance sites such as Natanz or Isfahan do not create atomic mushrooms clouds, but they can leave toxins in the air, especially the UF6.“When uranium hexfluoride interacts with moisture, it makes harmful chemicals,” Reuters quoted Daria Dolzikova of Russian think-tank in London. “Danger is more chemical than radiological but still real.”Whether they live near the chemical site or spread to the boundaries, the depth of air speed, direction and convenience depends on underground.Are underground sites safe for bombs?The irony is yes. Killing a site buried under concrete and rock, like Fordo, can actually reduce the spread of contamination.Simon Bennett, a security expert at the University of Leester, said, “You are burying dangerous materials in the tones of the earth.” “The material is toxic, but it does not travel far, and it is barely radioactive in its pre-reactor form.”Drinking scenario: BushaharWhile attacks on enrichment sites reduce low environmental risk, experts warned that a strike on the Bushhar nuclear power plant can trigger a radiological devastation.Located on the Gulf coast of Iran, Bushahar is an active reactor. Israeli forces mistakenly claimed that the site was killed on June 19, causing panic before walking back.“A hit on Bushehar can leave a hit in the sea or air in the air,” said James Acton of Carnegie Endowment for international peace. “This will be a Chernonobile-level disaster waiting.”Why are the bay states very nervousThe Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is on high alert. Not only because of the decline, but because millions of people depend on the water of the Gulf water.

Nyu Abu Dhabi’s Water Research Center Director Nidal Hilal said, “A contaminated near a coastal genuineation plant can stop the freshwater reach for an entire city.”