The mystery of Chernobyl

A bitter dispute is raging over whether the fallout zone is a wasteland or wonderland. Now, a team of scientists is heading back into the contaminated area to find out the truth.

Despite the stories about nature thriving in the Chernobyl area, Prof Mousseau is not convinced. The first discovery that he and Prof Moller made was that birds in the fallout zone were suffering increased levels of genetic mutations.
The pair examined 20,000 barn swallows and found crippled toes, deformed beaks, malformed tails, irregularly shaped eyes and tumours. Some birds had red plumage where it should have been blue, or blue where it should have been red.

Thanks to the contamination of the food supply, bird species have declined by more than 50 per cent in high-radiation areas. Only a fraction of the swallows are reproducing, and of those that do lay eggs, only five per cent hatch. Fewer than a third of birds survive to become adults. Prof Mousseau and Prof Moller could confirm that these abnormalities were genetic by examining the swallows’ sperm.

The insects that they feed on are suffering, too. In the most contaminated areas, there are fewer butterflies, bumblebees, grasshoppers, dragonflies and spiders. “The fact that insects, including pollinators, are sensitive to elevated contaminants has a significant impact on the rest of the ecosystem,” says Prof Mousseau.

There is another tragedy here. Prof Mousseau has started working with the Hospital for Radiation Biology, in Kiev, on a long-term study of humans who live in the area: more than 11,000 adults and 2,000 children in the Narodichesky region, 50 miles from Chernobyl.

Prof Mousseau says that the incidence among locals of cancer, birth defects and reduced lifespan is alarmingly high.

Telegraph