Civilization could return to the irradiated forests of Chernobyl, after scientists studying mutant black frogs in the exclusion zone made a shocking discovery.
In 1986, a meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant caused the largest release of radioactive material into the environment in human history.
A 2022 study later revealed that eastern tree frogs living near the site in northern Ukraine have black skin instead of green.
Now scientists studying frogs have discovered that they live as long as their green counterparts and don’t age any faster.
That could mean that the exclusion zone (1,0000 square miles around ground zero where access is restricted) becomes suitable for human habitation again.
Germán Orizaola of the University of Oviedo in Spain, co-author of the new study, said: “There does not seem to be any age difference between dark-colored frogs and normal-colored frogs.
«We did not find any difference in age (or aging rate) between frogs collected throughout the radioactive contamination gradient, including localities outside the exclusion zone.
‘The message from our study is that the current levels of radiation experienced by tree frogs in Chernobyl do not affect their age or aging processes.
Civilization could return to Chernobyl’s irradiated forests, after scientists studying mutant black frogs in the exclusion zone made a shocking discovery
In 1986, a meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant caused the largest release of radioactive material into the environment in human history.
«The age structure and the average age that we detected in Chernobyl is similar to that of other populations of the species in Eastern Europe or the Middle East.
“It is also similar to populations of a sister species: the European tree frog or Hyla arborea.”
Melanin, the pigment that darkens frogs’ skin, protects against radiation.
But Dr. Orizaola said this mutation was related to elevated radiation levels shortly after the accident, not current radiation levels.
Therefore, the frogs’ ability to live normally within the exclusion zone could prove that it is once again safe for human habitation.
He said: ‘We don’t think radiation is harming these frogs now.
‘One of the main reasons should be the decrease in radiation levels over the last 38 years.
‘More than 90% of the radioactive material released by the accident has already disintegrated and disappeared from the area.
A 2022 study revealed that eastern tree frogs living near the site in northern Ukraine have black skin instead of green.
The findings could mean that the exclusion zone (1,0000 square miles around ground zero where access is restricted) is once again suitable for human habitation.
“And the most harmful radioisotopes, 131-I, for example, disappeared months after the accident.”
He continued: ‘Large areas of the exclusion zone now maintain radiation levels that are comparable to background or ‘natural’ radiation levels in many places around the world, even lower than some areas.
“Therefore, human reoccupation of most of the area should be possible at any time.
“That wildlife lives there and is not affected by constant exposure to current levels of radiation demonstrates in many ways that these levels can be considered safe for humans.”
The exclusion zone was implemented shortly after the accident by the Soviet authorities governing Ukraine at the time.
Most of the residents were evacuated and today only a few remain, mainly those who refused to leave or returned secretly.
In the absence of human activity, biodiversity within the area flourished.
For this reason, however, Dr. Orizaola believes that the area should not be resettled, even if it were safe to do so.
In the absence of human activity, biodiversity within the Chernobyl exclusion zone flourished
He said: ‘The value of the area as a natural laboratory for understanding the long-term effects of radiation and as a key area for nature conservation exceeds that of the area for human settlement.
‘The ideal situation, in my opinion, is to keep the area protected from human activities, particularly extractive activities, and dedicate it to maintaining the memory of the accident.
“It should be maintained as a unique nature reserve.”
As part of their work, Dr. Orizaola and his co-author, Pablo Burraco, captured more than 200 frogs from more than a dozen different locations between 2016 and 2018.
They identified the ages of their specimens by examining the growth lines of their bones and assessed their rate of aging by measuring their telomeres.
Telomeres are DNA sequences located at the end of chromosomes, which protect the genetic material but shorten with each cell division.
Doctors Burraco and Orizaola, and their colleagues from France and the United States, published their study in the journal Biology Letters.
WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR DISASTER IN 1986?
On April 26, 1986, a power plant on the outskirts of Pripyat suffered a massive accident in which one of the reactors caught fire and exploded, spreading radioactive material throughout the surrounding area.
More than 160,000 residents of the city and its surrounding areas had to be evacuated and have not been able to return, leaving the former Soviet site a radioactive ghost town.
Shown above is a map of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. The “ghost town” of Pripyat is located near the disaster site
The exclusion zone, which covers a substantial area in Ukraine and part of the border with Belarus, will remain in place for generations to come, until radiation levels fall to sufficiently safe levels.
The region is called the “dead zone” because of the large radiation that persists.
However, the proliferation of wildlife in the area contradicts this and many argue that the region should be handed over to the animals that have settled in the area, creating a radioactive protected wildlife reserve.