Helen Whitehead is a PhD student at the University of Salford studying the impacts of radiation on birds in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone . She is also the Secretary of SRP ’ s Rising Generations Group .

In the early hours of 26th April 1986 , the world ’ s worst nuclear accident occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine . To put this into context , 400 times more radiation was emitted than that released by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 .

In the following few days , from an area of about 30 km around the nuclear power plant , 116,000 people had to evacuate their homes . To this day , there are severe restrictions in place , including a ban on permanent human settlement . The abandoned area of

2 approximately 4,750 km around the nuclear power plant , known as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone ( CEZ ), spans land in both Ukraine and Belarus .

Radioactive contamination in the exclusion zone is patchy , largely due to the deposition of radioactive isotopes onto the ground being influenced by weather conditions on the day of the accident and over the subsequent period ( approximately ten days ) during which relatively large emissions were occurring . Although radiation levels have reduced considerably since the accident , there are some areas where they are still too high for people to be allowed to return .

CHAR Project – Lynx

Radiation Protection Today Summer 2021

Many assumed that the CEZ would become desolate , but over much of the area the environment has flourished . The accident has provided a unique opportunity to study the effects of radiation on wildlife including mammals , birds , insects and trees , in what researchers call a ‘ natural laboratory ’.

Studies on wildlife in Chernobyl This year marks 35 years since the accident at Chernobyl , and the area is now inhabited by a variety of different wildlife including brown bears , European bison , wolves , lynxes , Przewalski horses and more than 200 species of birds . Groups studying Chernobyl wildlife have conducted research on a range of organisms including birds , amphibians , fish , bumblebees , earthworms , bacteria and mammals .

CHAR Project – Grey Wolf

The effects of radiation were seen most obviously in coniferous forests , which were the first to show ecosystem effects . Deciduous trees were reported to be more resistant , but damage to branches and leaves was observed . The effects of radiation on pine trees caused the needles to turn a redbrown colour and , as a result , an area of

2 approximately 4-5 km is now known as the Red Forest .

Effects on soil-dwelling invertebrates were most severe in areas of the highest

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