ENVIRONMENT

Removing humans from the exclusion zone around the damaged Chernobyl nuclear reactor has allowed wildlife to return. (BBC)

What happened at Chernobyl? Use our resources to find out.

Discussion Ideas

• The entire human population around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station was evacuated in 1986. Why? Take a look at our short article on the disaster for some help.
  • According to our article, “workers in Reactor 4 attempted a test of an emergency cooling procedure. The reactor experienced a huge power surge. When workers tried to shut down the reactor, it resulted in an even larger power surge. Soon after, several large explosions turned into a fireball that eventually blew off the lid of the reactor. This released enormous amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere—several times more than that of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II.”

• Is the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation (the exclusion zone) still radioactive?
  • Yes, very. In fact, Chernobyl was in the news earlier this year when wildfires may have released radioactive particles (cesium-137) into the atmosphere.

• The new study reports that the Chernobyl exclusion zone is teeming with animals—even more than were present before the 1986 disaster. Does this mean radioactivity is actually good for wildlife?
  • No! “We’re not saying radiation is good for animals, but we’re saying human habitation is worse,” according to study author Jim Smith. (Great quote!)

• How did the scientists conduct their census of the animal populations at Chernobyl?
  • Scientists used two methods: counting tracks left by animals in the winter snow, and visual surveys, including assessing populations from helicopters.

• What animals did the scientists find at Chernobyl?
  • A lot! Elk, wolf, roe deer, fox, wild boar, weasel, lynx, pine marten*, raccoon dog, mink*, ermine*, stone marten*, polecat*, hare*, squirrel . . .
    • *photo of an animal not in the Chernobyl exclusion zone

• The new study is very focused and short, and should not be mistaken for a full report on the entire ecosystem at Chernobyl. What factors are missing from the study?
  • The new study does not “look at the health effects of radiation on individual animals.” Says study co-author Tom Hinton,
    • “Without doubt, animals near Chernobyl and the Fukushima power plant in Japan—where three reactors melted down after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami—suffered genetic damage. The million-dollar question is: ‘What is the significance of this?’ We don’t really know.”
  • “This study only applies to large mammals under hunting pressure rather than the vast majority of animals—most birds, small mammals, and insects—that are not directly influenced by human habitation,” says a scientist studying bird populations in the exclusion zone.

TEACHERS’ TOOLKIT

BBC: Wild mammals ‘have returned’ to Chernobyl

Nat Geo: 1986: Chernobyl Explodes

Travel to Ukraine: Chernobyl’s Wildlife Survivors (great photo gallery!)

The Trail Camera in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (photos)

Chasingame: Chernobyl Wildlife (photos)

(extra credit!) Current Biology: Long-term census data reveal abundant wildlife populations at Chernobyl