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Negative ecological impacts of low dose radiation

Chernobyl at 33: More evidence of slow-moving ecological catastrophe, Beyond Nuclear, April 19       
Following more than a decade of research indicating negative ecological impacts of low dose radiation, a new study points to reduced success in breeding among a type of rodent living in contaminated areas of Chernobyl. The more radiation, the greater the impact; and what would be normal interactions with the natural ecology can make this impact even worse, which is why lab experiments can’t replicate it fully. These impacts “can lead to significant consequences for individuals, populations, and likely even entire ecosystems.”
Such revelations bode poorly for people who might resettle in areas contaminated by radiological catastrophes. Discovering what happens to people in these areas has been made more difficult because whole databases of radiation doses to humans  have gone missing and research has focused mostly on catastrophic impacts rather than more subtle impacts. This is according to a new book “Manual for Survival: A Chernobyl Guide to the Future” by Kate Brown, interviewed on Nuclear Hotseat. Brown also reasons that before we think of using nuclear technology to address climate change, we need to figure out what radiation exposure from nuclear weapons and power has already done to our health.

April 27, 2019 - Posted by | environment, Ukraine

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