Scientists from Yildiz Technical University and Kocaeli University in the Turkish region of Kahramanmaraş, which was hit by the earthquake on February 6, monitored an increase in the level of radioactive radon gas in the air, four times higher than normal.
According to the Qatar News Agency, this gas can damage DNA molecules and body cells, in addition to causing cancer.
The scientists indicated that they conducted a field study of the soil in the village of Akpinar, located between the regions of Bistan and Ekenzia in Kahramanmaraş, during the days of February 9-12.
Professor Osman Gunay says: "Radioactive radon gas is present in the soil and is emitted as a result of the fission of radioactive materials present in the soil structure "Uranium, Thorbium and Potassium" Which, when decomposed, emits radon gas, which usually rises to the surface of the earth, but the occurrence of earthquakes leads to revealing the structure of soil and rocks, which leads to a very high level.
It is noteworthy that radon is a natural radioactive gas that is odorless, colorless and tasteless, resulting from the natural radioactive decay of uranium present in rocks and all types of soil, and it can also be found in water.
Radon escapes from the soil into the air, where it decays and produces more radioactive particles. During respiration, these particles are deposited into the lining cells, where they can damage DNA and potentially cause lung cancer.
On the sixth of last February, two earthquakes measuring 7.7 and 7.6 on the Richter scale hit southern Turkey and northern Syria, followed by thousands of violent aftershocks.
