[ RadSafe ] Article: Chernobyl ecosystems 'remarkably healthy' [Early exception]

[farbersa at optonline.net]

> A Karam wrote:
> 
> > The radiation doses in most of the area around Chernobyl were (and 
> are) not high enough to be fatal [insert: to biota]

Andy Karam's remarks are generally quite accurate with the exception of the early radiation dose to some areas in the Ukraine studied and reported upon as mentioned below.
 
After the Chernobyl accident, there was a fascinating paper presented [1988 or 1989 HPS Annual Meeting] by Dr. M. Goldman of the Univ. CA about the ability of US researchers working with the US Government to track the die off of trees [pines??] around Chernobyl from satellite observations. 

Trees have very large chromosomes and are accordingly rather sensitive to radiation injury. The integrated radiation dose these local trees received, generally direct gamma, from the elevated Chernobyl plume as it moved by was sufficient to kill certain trees. The die off patterns of these trees allowed isopleths of radiation dose to be estimated without any ground based survey measurements or information from the Soviets at the time. In some cases trees were killed by large uptakes of Cs-137 by foliar intake or other mechanisms if the plume was at ground level. Dr. Goldman told of the Soviets having to clear  trees contaminated to these elevated levels quite a distance back from roads through the area to cut down on the gamma dose as workers moved along roads to and from the plant after the accident.

One touching story Dr. Goldman told in his presentation was that there was one tree near a road from which German troops hung local Ukraine partisans during WWII. The local people post-Chernobyl refused to let the authorities cut down this one tree scheduled for cutting as part of a clearing program to reduce dose rate since they wanted it left standing as a reminder of their fight for freedom during WWII.

Stewart Farber, MSPH
farbersa at optonline.net
[203] 367-0791