chernobyl (Page 3)

English researcher John Urquhart says that deaths anddeformities caused by fallout from the 1986 Chernobyldisaster, the world worst nuclear accident, may extendbeyond the Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. The radioactivecloud it sent over Europe could have increased infant deathsand birth defects in England and Wales in the three yearsafter the accident. Urquhart thinks that at least 200 morechildren than normal died during those three years. “We’veprobably been too complacent about the health effects fromChernobyl in western Europe,” he says. He thinks the falloutmay have caused more than 600 extra cases of Down’sSyndrome, spina bifida, cleft palate and other abnormalities.
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Dmytro Hrodzynskyy, a Ukrainian scientist who is monitoring the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster warns that the levels of radiation around the destroyed reactor are risingBecause the concrete cover placed over the remains of the damaged reactor is failing. He believes the remaining fuel inside the reactor is heating up.
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BBC News – Since the explosion of a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Russia 15 years ago, nearby Norway has been monitoring its plants, animals and people for radiation on a regular basis. One animal species still showing signs of radiation poisoning is Norway?s reindeer population. There are about 20,000 reindeer in Norway and their radiation levels are checked annually, since Norwegians like to eat reindeer meat. Only about a 10th of the deer pass the safety tests.

It turns out that this is because reindeer love mushrooms, and mushrooms accumulate cesium, a dangerous element that was released in large amounts during the Chernobyl explosion and is still present in the soil.
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