There also plans for developing solar power plants in the area, and for expanding forestry work. Tourism has flourished in Chernobyl, with more than 70,000 visitors in 2018. Over the years, Chernobyl has also become an excellent natural laboratory for the study of evolutionary processes in extreme environments, something that could prove valuable given the rapid environmental changes experienced worldwide.Īt present, several projects are trying to resume human activities in the area. In 2016 the Ukrainian part of the exclusion zone was declared a radiological and environmental biosphere reserve by the national government.įorest and meadows inside Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (Ukraine). That final option would suggest that the pressures generated by human activities would be more negative for wildlife in the medium-term than a nuclear accident – a quite revealing vision of the human impact on the natural environment. In addition, the absence of humans inside the exclusion zone could be favouring many species – big mammals in particular. Another alternative possibility is that some organisms could be starting to show adaptive responses that would allow them to cope with radiation and live inside the exclusion zone without harm. The general absence of negative effects of radiation on Chernobyl wildlife can be a consequence of several factors:įirst, wildlife could be much more resistant to radiation than previously thought. But these effects don’t seem to affect the maintenance of wildlife population in the area. Some birds also have higher levels of albinism, as well as physiological and genetic alterations when living in highly contaminated localities. For example, some insects seem to have a shorter lifespan and are more affected by parasites in areas of high radiation.
Studies have also detected some negative effects of radiation at an individual level. These cameras recorded the first observation of brown bears and European bison inside the Ukrainian side of the zone, as well as the increase in the number of wolves and Przewalski horses.Īn oriental treefrog (Hyla orientalis), Chernobyl (Ukraine). The photos recorded by these cameras reveal the presence of abundant fauna at all levels of radiation. As part of this project, motion detection cameras were installed for several years in different areas of the exclusion zone. All the studied groups maintain stable and viable populations inside the exclusion zone.Ī clear example of the diversity of wildlife in the area is given by the TREE project (TRansfer-Exposure-Effects, led by Nick Beresford of the UK’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology). In addition, they confirmed the general lack of big negative effects of current radiation levels on the animal and plant populations living in Chernobyl. These studies showed that at present the area hosts great biodiversity. These studies included work on big mammals, nesting birds, amphibians, fish, bumblebees, earthworms, bacteria and leaf litter decomposition. About 30 researchers from the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Belgium, Norway, Spain and Ukraine presented the latest results of our work. In March 2019, most of the main research groups working with Chernobyl wildlife met in Portsmouth, England. Chernobyl wildlife todayīut today, 33 years after the accident, the Chernobyl exclusion zone, which covers an area now in Ukraine and Belarus, is inhabited by brown bears, bisons, wolves, lynxes, Przewalski horses, and more than 200 bird species, among other animals. Considering the long time that some radioactive compounds take to decompose and disappear from the environment, the forecast was that the area would remain devoid of wildlife for centuries. Therefore, after the accident it was assumed that the area would become a desert for life. Few animals survived the highest radiation levels.
This area received the highest doses of radiation, the pine trees died instantly and all the leaves turned red. One of the areas more heavily affected by the radiation was the pine forest near the plant, known since then as the “Red Forest”. The initial impact on the environment was also important. Estimates of the number of human fatalities vary wildly. Although there are not clear figures, the physical loss of human lives and physiological consequences were huge. The accident had a major impact on the human population. And severe restrictions on permanent human settlement are still in place today. An exclusion zone was created around the plant, and more than 350,000 people were evacuated from the area. It remains the largest nuclear accident in history.ĭecontamination work began immediately after the accident. As a result of the accident, in the then Soviet Union, more than 400 times more radiation was emitted than that released by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima (Japan) in 1945. Reactor number four of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant suffered an explosion during a technical test on April 26, 1986.
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