Chapter 1057: Chapter 66: East Africa’s Lack of Morality

This reshuffling has proven relatively effective, especially in significantly enhancing the safety of some laboratories or research institutions in East Africa, such as the Nuclear Physics Research Institute, which Ernst has never personally inspected.

The current process of research in nuclear physics is quite challenging, especially as there is no effective protection against radioactive substances. Although East Africa has specially-designed protective clothing, primarily made with lead and other elements, it cannot guarantee infallible safety, and Ernst naturally would not risk himself.

East African nuclear physics research began in the late 1990s, precisely when Europe was at the initial stage of exploring radioactive substances. Under Ernst’s leadership, East Africa naturally commenced relevant research ahead of time.

In the initial period, there was a severe shortage of corresponding talent. After all, Europe had only just embarked on the discovery and research of radioactive substances, similarly, Europe’s research in related fields was not much more advanced than East Africa’s, and was dispersed across various countries. Governments outside of East Africa evidently did not place much importance on nuclear physics.

Thus, East Africa is currently considered one of the most advanced countries in the world in the field of nuclear physics research, and during the 15th Five-Year Plan, it is also a period of rapid development in East African nuclear physics research.

The harm of radioactive substances to humans can be said to be even more dangerous than the chemical industry. Therefore, East African nuclear physics research institutions must certainly not be located in capital cities or major cities but are placed in central and western regions.

Of course, in harsh environments, the East African Government naturally offers relevant subsidies, enjoying the nation’s highest treatment and even ensures arrangements for their subsequent life and family prospects.

After all, humanity’s early understanding of radioactive substances was seriously lacking. Although Ernst could make some interventions, he could not solve the fundamental problems.

The earlier the research, the less rigid the rules should be set. After all, if people recognized the dangers of radioactive substances, those willing to contribute to this field would likely be few.

Scientists in Europe researching radioactivity work in environments more harsh than East Africa, such as the famous Curies, who were irradiated by radioactive substances daily. Thus, Ernst found it difficult to invite these pioneering figures of nuclear physics research, as any contact with East African scientists would be a hidden disaster for East African scientific research.

Currently, East Africa’s classification of radioactive substances is "unknown," meaning it is uncertain if they present harm, although Ernst knew the definite answer but could not directly explain it. This was a relatively unfamiliar field for Ernst.

At present, humanity’s primary application of radioactive substances concentrates in the medical field, using their property to kill cancer cells, thus creating an illusion of treating cancer and other diseases.

In East Africa, this is evidently not allowed by law, and Ernst’s excuse is that since radioactive substances can kill cancer cells, whether they also affect normal human cells remains unclear. East African researchers naturally cannot provide a definite answer at this stage, so East Africa logically segregated nuclear physics research.

This certainly is not beneficial for East African nuclear physics research work, so to compensate for the flaws caused by some strict regulations, East Africa could only invest more resources to ensure the development of domestic nuclear physics.

Including constructing separate railways, road traffic, separate living environments, separate scientific laboratories, and scientific experiment sites, which greatly reduces the connectivity of the East African Nuclear Physics Research Institute with other disciplines, while this self-contained research model naturally requires more costs.

During a government meeting, Ernst particularly emphasized: "The collection of radioactive substances must be done using specially designed containers, such as lead boxes, and the same applies to waste disposal. They must be sealed after use, registered, and centralized for export to foreign countries."

This approach is typical of saving oneself while sacrificing others, much like the shameless behavior of Japan in a previous life. However, currently, other countries certainly would not notice or be aware of Ernst’s malicious intentions.

In a past life, many countries with nuclear industries liked to export nuclear waste to Africa, so Ernst’s actions could be seen as treating others in the way they had treated him.

"Meanwhile, the protective work on radioactive substance research must be well done and not careless, especially for our nuclear physics researchers. Their treatment must be ensured at the highest level, and their families must be treated well to alleviate their worries."

East African officials did not understand this, much like how many chemical substances were little known in terms of specific dangers, often leading to many problems being neglected or covered up. Ernst naturally could not alter this status quo.

Scientific research inherently has pros and cons, and Ernst naturally knew the risks of many research tasks, but binding too tightly is counterproductive to the rapid development of research work. East Africa does not want to be surpassed by other countries, so it must bear such risks.

Of course, this is evidently unfair to some East African researchers, as Ernst’s actions, to put it bluntly, were sending them to their deaths, knowing the risks and dangers.

In this regard, Ernst naturally had no good solutions, and could only offer compensations in other aspects to these individuals destined to sacrifice for East Africa’s scientific endeavors.

Indeed, East Africa’s nuclear physics research is not solely limited to the domestic front, as East Africa has established a batch of laboratories in Europe and America.

Employing European and American scientists to serve East Africa, East Africa only needs to invest funds and waits for the eventual data results.

Therefore, the nuclear physics research institutions East Africa established abroad are vastly different from domestic ones, and they are even located in the core areas of developed cities like New York and London, with European and American scientists conducting accelerated research or experiments on radioactive substances without any protective measures.

In an era of incomplete understanding of radioactive substances, naturally, no one pays attention to whether East Africa’s actions are abnormal.

Take, for instance, Madam Curie’s laboratory built within the University of Paris. Hence East Africa’s establishment of nuclear physics research institutions and laboratories in developed cities in Europe and America could be said to blend seamlessly.

Thus, East Africa’s behavior in the field of nuclear physics research is quite unscrupulous, harming not only national researchers but also foreign ones to a greater extent.

Of course, related scientific personnel in Europe and America naturally would not realize this, and instead would be grateful to the "patron" behind them, given the current lack of significant value displayed by radioactive substances. The foreign nuclear physics research institutions East Africa established essentially provided them with employment venues and spared them from having to go to some remote East African location, allowing them to work in their own country with relatively generous treatment, making it perfectly "suitable."

After all, the chance to live and work in New York or London means no one would think of a small town in East Africa, quietly engaging in nuclear physics research.

Thus, most domestic nuclear physics research personnel in East Africa are talents cultivated by the East African education system, with few foreigners involved, as many were educated in Europe and America and returned home to enlist in the national campaigns.

This leads to a certain disconnect between East African nuclear physics research work and European and American countries, where European and American research personnel engage in closer communication and collaboration. Conversely, while East Africa offers the best treatment, it has fewer interactions with European and American researchers.

This situation naturally imposes certain limitations on East African nuclear physics research, which is the primary reason for East Africa investing in constructing nuclear physics research institutions abroad, using these foreign research establishments to provide data and reference information for domestic research, while also reducing some risky experiments.

Early nuclear physics research was not valued by the government, so obtaining information on East African foreign nuclear physics studies was not difficult, such as the many scientific achievements openly published by the Curies.

Under such circumstances, East African nuclear physics research certainly would not be "lost," and with the assistance of the powerful national machine behind it, almost every request of East African nuclear physics researchers was granted. In this environment, after East Africa’s early nuclear physics research framework was established, research work progressed smoothly and achieved significant accomplishments, leaving European and American counterparts far behind.