Shock discovery about radioactive frogs at Chernobyl
Early studies suggested wildlife at the abandoned nuclear site was being impacted, but new research has delivered a surprise update.
Humans may be unable to return to the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster for 20,000 years because radiation exposure can lead to cancer. So a team of international researchers wondered how frogs living across the site were affected.
Since the evacuation of human occupants, the 2,800 square km Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in northern Ukraine has become the third-largest nature reserve in mainland Europe. Some research has suggested radiation exposure is triggering physical deformities and genetic disorders in mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, and fish living at the site. But just how much damage it causes has been contested.
Surprisingly, new research published in the journal Biology Letters found no significant impact on eastern green tree frogs (Hyla orientalis) despite ongoing radiation exposure. Close to 200 individuals were studied, and each was aged between two and nine.
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The study suggests radiation levels may not be high enough to interfere with examining lifespan, ageing and stress hormones in semi-aquatic vertebrates.
“We also did not find any relationship between individual absorbed radiation and telomere length, nor between individual absorbed radiation and corticosterone levels,” said researchers from Doñana Biological Station and the Spanish National Research Council.
What's behind the frog radiation results?
The results reflect a considerable decrease in radiation since the disaster was triggered on 26 April, 1986. Research indicates short-lived radionuclides, which are known to induce significant biological damage have vanished from the area.
It was a different story after scientists conducted experiments on white rats and found a marked reduction in lifespan. General research on radiation has found humans exposed to high levels have an increased risk of cancers and cardiovascular diseases.
The researchers said there is a “clear need” for more research into how current radiation levels are impacting wildlife at Chernobyl now.
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