The Chernobyl Disaster May Have Also Built a Paradise
WiredUntil the 19th century, the Pripyat River basin on the border between Ukraine and Belarus was wetland and forest. And then, on April 26, 1986, a nuclear power plant called Chernobyl, on the Pripyat River about 70 miles north of Kiev, blew up and caught fire, spewing radiation across the northern hemisphere. The bulk of that area is now called the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, and the old power plant is now encased in a giant concrete sarcophagus. “It has such a short half-life that it disappeared quickly—days and weeks after the accident,” says Jim Beasley, an ecologist at the University of Georgia who studies life in the Exclusion Zone. “I’ll bet you that if we went together to the Exclusion Zone, I would be able to tell you the radiation level from the vocal activity of the birds.” With his frequent collaborator Timothy Mousseau, Møller has long warned of the negative effects of radiation on the ecosystem.
History of this topic
Chernobyl Was a Wildlife Haven. Then Russian Troops Arrived
Wired
Chernobyl no-go zone targeted as Russia invades Ukraine
Associated Press)
Chernobyl Disaster: A Missile Radar in The Exclusion Zone is Now a Protected Heritage Site
News 18)
Chernobyl serves as a monument to human error 35 years after nuclear disaster
Firstpost)
35 years since nuclear explosion, Chernobyl remains a place of 'tragedy and memory' for Ukrainians
Firstpost
35 years since nuclear disaster, Chernobyl warns, inspires
Associated Press
Chernobyl: What it's like to visit the nuclear disaster zone
The IndependentDiscover Related
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