
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Download MP3
The Alang ship-breaking yard is your first clue for today’s Geo Quiz. It’s one of the world’s largest junkyards for ships.
Aging cruiseships and oil tankers go there to get broken up for scrap metal. Alang is on the shores of a part of the Arabian Sea called the Gulf of Khambhat.
The question for you is — which country is this ship junkyard in?
Alang is infamous for appalling worker’s conditions and environmental pollution. Today, a different junkyard in this country is in the news. That’s because workers there were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation.
So — name the country…
The case we’re focusing on involves an old piece of scientific equipment from the University of Delhi. The machine was auctioned off for scrap. But no one handling it knew it contained a radioactive metal called Cobalt-60. Workers dismantling the machine were exposed to dangerous radiation.
One of them died — and several others are critically ill. Police authorities as well as India’s ATOMIC Energy regulatory body are investigating the incident. The BBC’s Sanjoy Majunder is following the story:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Discussion
No comments for “Dangerous junkyard”