Crops near Chernobyl still contaminated
Crops grown near Chernobyl are still contaminated due to the 1986 nuclear accident, new research shows.
Scientists analysed grains including wheat, rye, oats and barley and found concentrations of radioactive isotopes – strontium 90 and/or caesium 137 – above Ukraine s official safe limits in almost half of samples.
The researchers also examined wood samples and found three quarters contained strontium 90 concentrations above Ukrainian limits for firewood.
The study was carried out by the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter and the Ukrainian Institute of Agricultural Radiology. We focussed on strontium 90 because it is known to be currently present in soil mostly in bioavailable form, meaning it can be taken up by plants, said lead author Dr Iryna Labunska, of the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter.
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Crops grown near Chernobyl are still contaminated due to the 1986 nuclear accident, new research shows.
Scientists analysed grains including wheat, rye, oats and barley and found concentrations of radioactive isotopes - strontium 90 and/or caesium 137 - above Ukraine s official safe limits in almost half of samples.
The researchers also examined wood samples and found three quarters contained strontium 90 concentrations above Ukrainian limits for firewood.
The study was carried out by the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter and the Ukrainian Institute of Agricultural Radiology. We focussed on strontium 90 because it is known to be currently present in soil mostly in bioavailable form, meaning it can be taken up by plants, said lead author Dr Iryna Labunska, of the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter.