Scientists Reveal Why Plants At Chernobyl Didn't Get Cancer After The Nuclear Meltdown In 1986 While Humans And Animals Did

Chernobyl may be synonymous with death and destruction but scientists now believe the meltdown at the failed power plant may in fact have been a boon to wildlife in the area.

Far from a nuclear wasteland, the 1,000 square mile (2,600km²) exclusion zone established around Chernobyl has become a sanctuary for flora and fauna – precisely because people were forced to flee.

Plantlife in particular has benefited from its unique ability to withstand the cancerous side-effects of the fallout, with trees, bushes and flowers largely unaffected by the disaster.

Even in the most radiated regions, experts say vegetation had begun to recover just three years after the 1986 disaster.

Wolves, boars and bears have also reportedly made a comeback in the lush forests in the region around the destroyed nuclear plant.  Chernobyl 01:23:40: Th... Leatherbarrow, Andrew Best Price: $5.16 Buy New $7.59 (as of 11:39 UTC - Details)

In an in-depth article for The Conversation Stuart Thompson, senior lecturer in plant biochemistry at the University of Westminster, explains why plants are able to resist radiation – and why wildlife is now thriving.

‘In a way, the Chernobyl disaster reveals the true extent of our environmental impact on the planet,’ he writes.

‘Harmful as it was, the nuclear accident was far less destructive to the local ecosystem than we were. In driving ourselves away from the area, we have created space for nature to return.

‘Now essentially one of Europe’s largest nature preserves, the ecosystem supports more life than before, even if each individual cycle of that life lasts a little less.’

When human cells are hit by the high energy particles and waves sent out by unstable and decaying nuclear material, their cellular structure is smashed and chemical reactions take place that damage the machinery within the cells.

DNA is particularly vulnerable to the damage caused by these radioactive particles, as other parts of the cells can be replaced, but the genetic code within each cannot be.

At high doses, DNA is completely scrambled and cells die rapidly, causing the symptoms characteristic of radiation poisoning.

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