Environmental Effects Following Chernobyl Npp Explosion

Chernobyl’s nuclear explosion effect on the natural environment

      On April 26th, 1986, Chernobyl’s nuclear power plant 4th reactor exploded at 1:23am, evacuating over a hundred thousand civilians who lived in the area within a 30-kilometer radius. The evacuated land was called the exclusion area. It is said that the radiation contamination from Chernobyl greatly exceeded that of the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. A quote by Catherina Caufield from Quintana’s writing reads, “radiation sets off a ‘chain of physical, chemical, and biological changes that can result in serious illness, genetic defects, or death.’” This shows how harmful the nuclear radiation exposure can affect humans. Imagine the affects on surrounding wildlife. Drastic changes occurred to areas surrounding Chernobyl, which could not be evacuated so easily, such as the surrounding Red Forest, bodies of water including ground water, also the fauna and vegetation within the 30-kilometer radius from the Nuclear Power Plant.
      According to Flanary, as a result of the Chernobyl accident, tens of thousands of acres of forests have experienced massive radioactive contamination, located in the immediate vicinity of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and stretching about two kilometers from the station. Four square kilometers of pine forest directly downwind of the reactor, turned reddish-brown and died, earning the name of The Red Forest (Flanary).   It is easy to think how harmful radiation can be to a diverse living area as the Red Forest, especially when we know the horrible effects is has on the human life form. Cesium is a radioactive chemical, which was abundantly found spread around Chernobyl after the explosion. According to The Chernobyl Forum, “Particularly high cesium activity concentrations have been found in mushrooms, berries, and game, and these high levels have persisted for two decades (Forum).” It would seem high levels would still be found in these things today, if the rate...