Effect Of Nuclear Radiation On Chernobyl

Animals and plants are also greatly affected by nuclear accidents. A number of species has been researched in the years since the Chernobyl accident. There are physiological and morphological changes in animal and plant species due to the radiation exposure (Wehrden et al., 2011). The figure to the right shows recorded morphological and physiological changes in different animal species in the Chernobyl area. Radiation has affected mushrooms in Sweden, bats in Chernobyl, and plants in southwestern Russia. Although radiation levels continue to decrease in the Chernobyl area, there are still high levels of radiation in the ecosystem (Wehrden et al., 2011). Radiation levels in mosses, soil, glaciers still have high radiation levels in several places in Europe. A range of bird species have begun to have a smaller brain size than normal in the Chernobyl area (Wehrden el al., 2011). There have been changes in reproduction rates, genetic structures, and leukocyte levels in fish and frogs. There also has been a decrease in population of insects, spiders, raptors, and small mammals. The figure above shows all the recorded differences researchers have found in different animal species in the Chernobyl area (Wehrden et al., 2011). …show more content…
The water in the nuclear power plant has been treated and is being stored in tanks on site. Storing the treated water gets more costly by the day. The main concern is moving the water to a safe place, because not all radioactive contaminants are removed from the water. Plans are in place to get the discharge of the water approved. (Makinin,