Gruinard Island, Scotland

The mortal danger is associated with visiting the Scottish Gruinard island that since 1942 was used to test biological weapons. According to reports, the anthrax was tested there. After a series of experiments, researchers found that the virus is able to remain active for many years. About 95% of people infected with anthrax die. The tests took place on the island until 1986. After completion of the experiment, scientists were engaged in the so-called cleansing of the territory.

In 1990, they stated that Gruinard is absolutely safe to visit, but such statements didn’t make Scottish people and tourists confident. Many scholars continue to insist that the island will remain dangerous for a few hundred years, as it is simply impossible to destroy the remnants of the anthrax in its territory. The island is very beautiful and attracts with its scenery. The first who dared to land on its territory after the cleansing were archeologists.

They claimed that they found anthrax spores during an excavation of the soil, which means that the risk of contracting the deadly disease still exists. However, no officially recorded cases of infection are known so far. In recent years, a lot of interesting documentaries were shot about Gruinard Island, in which research groups talked about its terrible past, the details of the experiments, and whether it’s dangerous to visit this beautiful territory. There is no official ban on visiting the island, so everyone is free to decide for itself whether to walk along the land contaminated with anthrax or not. Next - Danakil Desert