From disaster zone to living laboratory: Chernobyl provides test bed for UGA researchers
Thirty-eight years ago, the city of Pripyat, Ukraine, was rocked by the explosion of a nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. In the days following, families fled their homes and a region filled with a bustling city, numerous villages, and agricultural communities became, almost at once, deserted.
Contrary to expectation, a unique diversity of wildlife now graces the land. Without a human presence, plant life has flourished and taken over structures. Animals have made habitats in structures that were once houses, office buildings, or schools. Many areas almost resemble a nature reserve.
“In the decades that have elapsed since the accident, radiation levels dropped due to radioactive decay, and we have seen the resurgence of a diverse community of wildlife within the exclusion zone” said Jim Beasley, a professor and researcher in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL).
Since the founding of SREL in 1951, UGA researchers like Beasley have studied radioecology, which delves into the presence and impacts of radioactivity in ecosystems.Chernobyl and Fukushima, Japan, which also experienced a nuclear meltdown in 2011, have provided perfect environments for this research.
