Xu-Yang Yangjunjie, Skonieczny Charlotte, Ayrault Sophie, Barbier Jean-Sébastien, Bizeul Rémi, Bryskere Octave, Chaboche Pierre-Alexis, Chalaux-Clergue Thomas, Corcho-Alvarado José A, Foucher Anthony, Karsenti Alice, Leblanc Maxime, Orizaola Germán, Plautre Amélie, Röllin Stefan, Taraconat Nirina, Tenaud Nicolas, Valdés Ana Elisa, Dulac François, Evrard Olivier
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE/IPSL), Unité Mixte de Recherche 8212(CEA-CNRS-UVSQ), Université Paris-Saclay, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, GEOPS, 91405, Orsay, France.
Sci Adv. 2025 Jan 31;11(5):eadr9192. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adr9192.
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 fingerprint, remained in the range of the global fallout signatures largely dominated by US and former USSR nuclear tests, significantly different from French fallout signatures. Radioactive contamination detected in all samples did not, however, present a risk to public health in terms of radioactivity exposure.
雷加内地区位于阿尔及利亚南部，20世纪60年代法国首次在此进行了大气核试验。该地区是最活跃的沙尘源区之一，经常发生大规模撒哈拉沙尘事件，沙尘抵达西欧并影响空气质量。2022年3月一次重大沙尘爆发后，发起了一场公民参与的科学活动，以研究沙尘携带的放射性。从西欧六个国家收集了110个沉积物样本，其中53个经证明具有科学代表性。地球化学和矿物学样本分析，结合卫星观测和后向轨迹计算，证实其来源为阿尔及利亚南部，包括雷加内试验场。钚同位素特征是独特的核弹指纹，仍处于全球沉降特征范围内，主要受美国和前苏联核试验主导，与法国沉降特征显著不同。然而，在所有样本中检测到的放射性污染，就放射性暴露而言，并未对公众健康构成风险。
