Hight radioactive background radiation is not only found in disaster zones like around the Chernobyl power plant in Pripyat but also occurs naturally. As in the popular beach town of Guarapari!
Guarapari is one of few places where the sand is naturally radioactive. The radiation level reaches far above what qualifies as acceptable levels. Still, it has not shown any adverse effect on the population living in the area. On the contrary, the city is called “the Healthy City.” People come from far to the sands for the treatment of various diseases. Healthy? (I, and more with me, doubt it.)
Photo: dudesena, Wikimedia Commons
What not to doubt is that some grains are of the rare mineral monazite, which contains uranium and thorium. An Austrian inventor found that he could produce a more vibrant white light if he used a radioactive element called thorium that he found in sand from Guarapari. With the discovery sand harvesting of Guaraparis beaches began.
Harvesting sand from the beaches in 1910. Photo: bionerd23
I’d love to try more of the many types of sand-covering therapies found around the world. Just a tad skeptical about radioactive ones, though. You?
