Thousands of hectares of Chornobyl-affected farmland, long deemed too dangerous for cultivation in northern Ukraine can safely return to production, according to new research.

The study, led by the University of Portsmouth and the Ukrainian Institute of Agricultural Radiology, developed a method for the safe reassessment of farmland abandoned after the 1986 nuclear accident.

Published in the Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, the research opens the door to potentially reclaiming large areas land for agricultural use – land that has remained officially off-limits for over three decades due to radioactive contamination.

Since the Chornobyl disaster, large regions of northern Ukraine were designated as too hazardous for farming. The 4200 square kilometre “Chornobyl Exclusion Zone” around the nuclear site remains uninhabited and is now one of Europe’s largest nature reserves.

Related: The radioactive church in Japan

A second 2000 square km area – the “Zone of Obligatory Resettlement” – was never fully abandoned. The area is home to thousands of people, has schools and shops but no official investment or use of land is allowed.

Since the 1990’s scientists in Ukraine and overseas have been saying that the land can be safely used again despite contamination by radiocaesium and radiostrontium. But political complexities have meant that the land remains officially abandoned. That hasn’t stopped a few farmers taking matters into their own hands and beginning unofficial production in some areas. The new study has confirmed that the farmers were right – crops can be grown safely in most areas.

Using a 100-hectare test site in the Zhytomyr region, the researchers developed a simple yet robust protocol to evaluate contamination levels and predict the uptake of radioactive substances by common crops such as potatoes, cereals, maize, and sunflowers.

By analysing soil samples and measuring external gamma radiation, the researchers confirmed that the effective radiation dose to agricultural workers is well below Ukraine’s national safety threshold, and significantly lower than background radiation levels experienced naturally all over the world.

The findings show that, with proper monitoring and adherence to Ukrainian food safety regulations, many crops can be safely grown in these previously restricted zones.

Professor Jim Smith from the University of Portsmouth was lead author of the study. He said: “This research is important for communities affected by the Chornobyl disaster. Since 1986 there has been a lot of misinformation about radiation risks from Chornobyl which has negatively impacted on people still living in abandoned areas. We now have a validated, science-based approach for bringing valuable farmland back into official production while demonstrating safety for both consumers and workers.”

The team hopes this protocol can serve as a model for other regions worldwide dealing with long-term radioactive contamination. With careful implementation and community involvement, the researchers believe Ukraine could safely reclaim up to 20,000 hectares of agricultural land, contributing to food security and rural development.

“This isn’t just about Chornobyl”, said Professor Smith. “It’s about applying science and evidence to ensure people are protected, while making sure land isn’t needlessly left to waste.”

The post Bringing back the farm after a nuclear meltdown appeared first on Green Prophet.

To mark the 26th anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant accident, Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych presided at a ceremony at the site of the ruined nuclear plant in which a new construction project is being launched. The country will  build a new protective cover over the plant that when completed will enable the safe dismantling of the destroyed reactors which still contain “hot spots” of radiation contamination.

The new cover will be 108 meters high, 250 meters aide and 150 long. It will involve the use of 20,000 tons of steel and will be a great improvement over the temporary cover that was constructed following the accident.

According to World Nuclear News President Yanukovych hailed the project as: “A historic event in the transformation of the Object Shelter into an ecologically safe system: the construction of the arch of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. This project’s successful implementation will ensure that the surrounding area becomes environmentally safe and that there are no radiation leaks into the atmosphere.”

Up to last year’s meltdown of three Japanese Fukushima nuclear reactors in the aftermath of a 9.1 magnitude earth quake and resulting tsunami, the Chernobyl reactor meltdown had been considered as the world’s worst nuclear accident. Anti-nuclear power advocates, such as Australia’s Dr. Helen Caldicott are still saying that the Fukushima accident was worse than Chernobyl.

What is worrisome regarding the Chernobyl plant is that its status as a symbol of what can  happen if a nuclear plant reactor does melt down may become less relevant if the Chernobyl plant is dismantled or even rehabilitated, as may also be the case.

Although some Ukranians have returned to the area where radiation levels are low,other areas, especially the immediate vicinity of the plant itself may never again be suitable for human habitation.

This should be a good warning to countries here in the Middle East like Jordan who want to use nuclear energy to produce electricity. Jordan appears to want to use nuclear energy to “jump forward for energy development” by using atomic energy. Saudi Arabia too.

In the cases of both Chernobyl and Fukushima, nuclear energy is not that safe. Even if only desired for peaceful purposes and not the make weapons, nuclear energy is a very dangerous direction. Chernobyl may finally be rendered safe by the installation of the new canopy, the damage has already been done and will continue to be felt for many years to come.

Photo:  World Nuclear News Organization

More on Chernobyl and other nuclear plant disasters:

Jordan Jumps Forward on Energy Development
Dr. Helen Caldicott: Fukushima Nuclear Blast Much Worse Than Chernobyl
Worst Case Scenario Realized as Three Fukushima Reactors Melt Down
Will Nuclear Radiation Vaccine Transform Hazzards of Nuclear into Energy Innovation?

The post Will Chernobyl’s New Cover Change the Ugly Face of Nuclear? appeared first on Green Prophet.

We had a skype conversation with Dr. Helen Caldicott today, during which she stated in no uncertain terms that there is only one side to the nuclear question. Dr. Caldicott is a long time anti-nuclear activist, physician, and speaker whose name is trailed by an exhaustive list of impressive accolades. For roughly four decades, she has been tirelessly speaking out against the absolute nightmare that that is nuclear anything, and recently claimed that the Fukushima nuclear disaster is worse than Chernobyl.

Why would we want to talk about Fukushima when we are in the Middle East, far from Japan? Because nuclear disasters in our interconnected world are never merely local affairs. Following Chernobyl, Turkish tea and food, along with produce from other parts of Europe, were contaminated after the stratosphere winds carried radiation from the Ukraine to other parts of the northern hemisphere. We wanted to get a clear sense of what kind of fallout, if any, we can expect from Fukushima.

Nothing nuclear knows boundaries

“Chernobyl contaminated 40% of the European landmass,” Dr. Caldicott explained.

Instead of being restricted to the Ukraine, radiation was propelled into the stratosphere by Chernobyl’s massive explosion, where it was picked up by the wind and swept throughout the Northern Hemisphere to Greece, Austria, Turkey, and elsewhere.

“Now there are radioactive wild boar roaming through Germany,” she said.

After the Fukushima disaster, which is ongoing even if the original media excitement has dulled, both the United States and Canada have discovered that radiation knows no borders. Dr. Caldicott notes that radiation has been detected near Lake Louise in British Columbia, as well as in Vermont and Massachussets in the United States. However, its presence will only be known if measurements are taken.

Don’t forget Iraq

To date, we need not worry. Dr. Calidicott believes the radiation fallout from this nuclear disaster is unlikely to impact the Middle East. At least not unless there is another explosion. “We are not out of the woods yet,” she said.

But that doesn’t mean that we should let down our anti-nuclear guard, since radiation is derived from many sources with varying environmental and health impacts. For example, many Fallujah babies are born deformed as a result of depleted uranium contamination gifted by the American armed forces in Iraq.

Depleted uranium has a half-life of 4.5 billion years, which is roughly the age of the solar system. For the next 4.5 billion years (times ten or twenty), we will have radioactive isotopes in our environment that will permanently alter the DNA of all of humanity for as long as they can stand to live on what is becoming an increasingly toxic planet.

Dr. Caldicott, whose organization the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War received a nobel peace prize in 1985, and who has been awarded 20 honorary doctorate degrees, says that radiation, which has a bio-cumulative effect in our bodies and causes all kinds of cancers and congenital defects, will exist “for all time.”

She attributes our failure to prevent nuclear proliferation to the media (who hold the fate of the earth in their hands, she says, a responsibility I found to be a bit unfair) and ignorant politicians. “There aren’t two sides to the nuclear debate,” she says, adding that “politicians need to become more scientifically literate.”

From whence it came

Although our conversation left me feeling somewhat deflated and unhopeful, Dr. Caldicott notes that it is possible to return uranium back to the earth (from whence it came). A quick wikipedia search reveals that depending on what kind of uranium is being buried, it might have to be submerged as deep as 300 meters or 1,000 feet below ground in order to prevent leaching into the water supply or further ground contamination. Such a burial is termed a “deep geological repository.”

In the meantime, the fearless activist one Green Prophet reader wrongly called a “coal shill” says the consequence of our society’s ignorance and irresponsibility amounts to nothing less than “genocide.”

Read more about the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster:

Worse Case Scenario Realized as Three Fukushima Reactors Melt Down

Dr. Helen Caldicott: Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Much Worse than Chernobyl

Post-Chernobyl Agriculture in Turkey: A Sign of What’s in Store for Japan?

image taken from www.helencaldicott.com

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