![]() ![]() Using a radiation facility at the University of Stirling, we studied the effect of dose rates typically seen in the CEZ on commercial bumblebee colonies that were exposed for a month. ![]() Scientists are divided as to whether there are effects on wildlife living in these contaminated areas, with some studies reporting Chernobyl as a refuge for wildlife or, conversely, with serious consequences for the wildlife living there. Located on the West Trace, the Red Forest is a 10km² area surrounding Chernobyl and remains the most contaminated area in the CEZ. These areas are predominantly along what is called the North and West Trace, where the wind blew the contamination after the accident. However, some parts of the CEZ have radiation levels high enough to affect wildlife. Much of the exclusion zone is relatively uncontaminated (with radiation levels close to that of unexposed places) and wildlife is thriving in the absence of humans – with some species having reappeared. Many imagine Chernobyl to be a nuclear wasteland, where wildlife is struggling to survive or is severely mutated. Despite the intervening 34 years, there is still uncertainty about the effects of the radiation exposure on wildlife living in the Chernobyl exclusion zone (CEZ). More than 350,000 people were evacuated, and a 4,700km² exclusion zone was formed in Ukraine and Belarus. In the early hours of April 26 1986, reactor four of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine exploded, causing the largest nuclear disaster in history.
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