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The heart of nuclear reactor number 3 at Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Anatoli Kliashchuk/Sygma via Getty Images
The impact of nuclear disasters throughout history can still be seen in the environment today.
Animals in areas near nuclear disasters are being found with radiation still in their bodies.
Nuclear fallout spreads and impacts communities and environments near and far.
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Long after the events of Chernobyl and Fukushima, their impacts are still being felt.
The animals near major nuclear events and nuclear testing sites, like Enewetak Atoll, were discovered to have radioactive elements in their bodies immediately after. But even decades later, animals near and far are still being found to have radioactive elements in their body due to the contamination of food sources.
Enewetak Atoll was the site of intense nuclear testing by the US military.
A fireball from a bomb test blast begins to show the shape of a mushroom cloud.
© CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
Enewetak Atoll is a circular rim of coral consisting of 40 islands in the western Pacific Ocean. The atoll was held by Japan from 1914 until its capture by the United States during World War II.
Between 1948 and 1958, the US conducted 43 nuclear tests at Enewetak Atoll, including the first test of the hydrogen bomb. Because of the nuclear testing, the lagoon surrounding the chain of islands became irradiated, as well as the sand and soil on the islands.
In 1972, the US spent $100 million in an effort to clean up the area. Clean-up crews mixed 80,000 cubic meters of contaminated soil and debris with cement that they poured into a blast crater that was 30 feet deep and 360 feet wide.
Afterward, the clean-up team constructed a dome made of 358 concrete panels to cover the radioactive material.
Sea turtles in the area by Enewetak Atoll have been found to have traces of radiation in their shells.
A sea turtle swimming among dead corals of a reef.
MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images
After the cleanup at Enewetak Atoll, turtles were found with radiation in the layers of their shells. The leading theory is that the clean-up efforts disrupted radioactive sediment in the lagoon near Enewetak Atoll and the turtles swallowed the sediment.
Chernobyl was a nuclear meltdown event in 1986, and its impacts are still being felt today.
An external view of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
Anatoli Kliashchuk/Sygma via Getty Images
On April 26, 1986, one of the reactors at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant went out of control during a test at low power. The result was an explosion and a fire that released over 100 radioactive elements into the atmosphere.
Additionally, the uranium fuel melted through protective barriers and the absence of a protective concrete dome led to the release of radioactive elements like plutonium, iodine, strontium, and cesium.
The initial explosion killed two workers, and three months after the event, 28 firemen and emergency workers died from radiation sickness.
Wild boars in Bavaria, Germany, are still being found with radioactive elements in their bodies.
A wild boar holds an apple in its mouth.
Nicolas Armer/picture alliance via Getty Images
Boars forage for mushrooms and truffles which feed off nutrients in the soil.
When nuclear tests are done, nuclear elements swell into the sky, get carried by the wind, and settle onto the ground. As mushrooms grow, they absorb radiation from that nuclear fallout from the ground.
Wild boars in Bavaria have been found to have 15,000 becquerels of radiation for every kilogram of meat. The European safety limit is 600 becquerels per kilogram.
The packs of wild dogs surrounding Chernobyl have also been impacted by the meltdown.
A pack of wild dogs roams an outdoor market in Russia.
MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images
Over 700 dogs living near Chernobyl are believed to be descendants of the dogs left behind by people who evacuated the area after the meltdown.
Researchers have been studying mutations in the dog’s genomes and DNA as well as measuring the radiation in their bones. The dogs in Chernobyl live much shorter lives than the average dog with a lifespan of three to four years, compared to the average 10 to 12.
Reindeer as far away as Norway have also been impacted by the meltdown at Chernobyl.
A large group of reindeer running together in a herd.
OLIVIER MORIN/AFP via Getty Images
Nuclear sediment from Chernobyl was carried by the wind up to Norway where it fell into the soil in rain droplets. The radiated elements were absorbed from the soil by moss and fungus.
Reindeer in the area would feed on the moss and fungus. Immediately after the fallout, they could be found with levels of more than 100,000 becquerels per kilogram.
Current radiation levels in reindeer are now below safety standards, but every now and then spikes are seen in reindeer meat that exceed 2,000 becquerels.
The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster resulted in the evacuation of thousands and is the second-worst nuclear disaster in history.
Two men in construction hats walk on a concrete pier with the Fukushima power plant in the background.
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
In 2011, a 9.0 earthquake triggered a 50-foot tsunami that disabled the cooling and power supply of three reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant. The result was the meltdown of the three reactors within three days of the incident.
Over 100,000 people were evacuated from their homes following the disaster, and many people have yet to return to their homes due to safety concerns.
The Japanese macaques, also known as snow monkeys, were found to have increased levels of radiation after the Fukushima disaster.
Macaque monkeys bathe in a hot spring.
Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images
Immediately after the Fukushima disaster, macaques were found with levels of concentrated cesium up to 13,500 becquerels per kilogram.
Because of their diet of mushrooms, tree bark, and bamboo — all food sources that absorb radioactive cesium from the ground — the macaques were more likely to be found with radioactive elements in them.
Scientists believe that the long-term effects of radiation in the macaque population may have contributed to smaller heads, smaller brains, delayed growth, and anemia.
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