On April 26 in 1986, reactor number four at the Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine failed. It was the worst nuclear accident in history and its reverberations have reached all the way to Australia. A power surge at the plant led to explosions, and a meltdown, which spewed massive amounts of radiation into the atmosphere.
How large an area was affected by the radioactive fallout? Some 150,000 square kilometres in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine are contaminated and stretch northward of the plant site as far as 500 kilometres. An area spanning 30 kilometres around the plant is considered the “exclusion zone” and is essentially uninhabited.
Radionuclides were scattered in the vicinity of the plant and over much of Europe. The Chernobyl fallout had a major impact on both agricultural and natural ecosystems in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, as well as in many other European countries. Radionuclides were taken up by plants and later by animals.
Chernobyl, especially, is a great learning moment for how a serious nuclear disaster might travel to Washington. "The best defense the state had was the distance," Priddy said. "Very little actual radiation reached the state. We were able to measure it.
The dogs there are far more inbred, and still skew heavily German shepherd—a breed that has a long history in the region, a hint that the animals have largely kept to their ancestral roots, says Elaine Ostrander, a geneticist at the National Institutes of Health and another of Spatola's co-advisers.
The average lifespan of the dogs of the Chernobyl power plant site is anywhere between three and four years on average, and because of this, these dogs don't live long enough to truly see the lasting impacts of possible radiation sickness or living in this type of environment for decades.
As host Drew Scanlon explains in the video below, “Visitors are advised not to touch animals in the exclusion zone because they could carry radioactive particles in their fur.”
The Chernobyl reactor exploded a short distance away from the Soviet town of Pripyat in the Kiev Oblast, or region, near the border of Belarus. The disaster produced the “largest uncontrolled radioactive release into the environment ever recorded” and mostly had an immediate impact on Ukraine, Belarus and West Russia.
Today, the Exclusion Zone is one of the most radioactively contaminated areas in the world and draws significant scientific interest for the high levels of radiation exposure in the environment, as well as increasing interest from tourists.
While it naturally fades over time, this can sometimes take thousands of years. Scientists have previously said, due to the huge amount of contamination in the Chernobyl area, the exclusion zone will not be habitable for many, many years.
Based on the official reports, nearly 8,400,000 people in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine were exposed to the radiation, which is more than the population of Austria. About 155,000 sq. km of territories in the three countries were contaminated, which is almost half of the total territory of Italy.
How long can you stay in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone? There are two exclusion zones in Chernobyl; a 10km inner and 30km outer Exclusion Zone. It is safe to stay in the outer Exclusion Zone overnight.
KI protects only against radioactive iodine and does not protect against other types of radiation. KI protects only the thyroid. KI does not protect other parts of the body. KI must be taken within 24 hours before or 4 hours after exposure to be most effective.
The Fukushima event has been rated 7 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, the same level as the 1986 Chernobyl accident. Even so, Japanese authorities estimate that radiation released at Fukushima is only 10 percent of the amount released from the Ukrainian plant.
Part of the radioactive plume spread south westwards across Europe, and from Poland a section moved northward towards Ireland. A sharp rise in radioactivity was recorded on air filters at Glasnevin on May 2, 1986, indicating the arrival of the radioactive plume over Ireland.
Radium - The MOST RADIOACTIVE Metal ON EARTH!
1. Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant, Japan is one of the world's most radioactive places. Fukushima is still highly radioactive today.
Key Facts. Both the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy facility in Japan and the Chernobyl accident in the former Soviet Union in 1986 required countermeasures to protect the public. This fact netted both accidents the highest rating on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES).
The main health concern initially involved radioactive iodine, with a half-life of eight days. Today, there is concern about contamination of the soil with strontium-90 and caesium-137, which have half-lives of about 30 years.
Today, the exclusion zone is eerily quiet, yet full of life. Though many trees have regrown, scientists have found evidence of elevated levels of cataracts and albinism, and lower rates of beneficial bacteria, among some wildlife species in the area in recent years.
The official death toll directly attributed to Chernobyl that is recognized by the international community is just 31 people with the UN saying it could be 50. However, hundreds of thousands of “liquidators” were sent in to put out the fire at the nuclear power plant and clean up the Chernobyl site afterwards.
There has been a 200% increase in birth defects and a 250% increase in congenital birth deformities in children born in the Chernobyl fallout area since 1986. In Belarus, 85% of children are deemed to be Chernobyl victims with genetic changes.
Mutated Animals in Chernobyl
These included everything from pine trees to grasshoppers and voles. The researchers failed to find strong evidence of adaptation in most of these studies, however, aside from the eradication of a few individuals that seemed to be genetically more vulnerable to the effects of radiation.
After the disaster at the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986, local residents were forced to permanently evacuate, leaving behind their homes and, in some cases, their pets. Concerned that these abandoned animals might spread disease or contaminate humans, officials tried to exterminate them.