Picture: Professor George Shaw, left, collected samples from Chernobyl
Experts from Nottingham are helping to asses the environmental impact of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster three decades on.
Tuesday marks the 30th anniversary of the tragedy, a catastrophic nuclear power plant explosion which spread contamination across Russia and Europe.
Scientists from the University of Nottingham have been collecting soil samples from the still-contaminated area in what is now Ukraine.
They are trying to verify the results of laboratory measurements being made back home in the School of Biosciences on the University’s Sutton Bonington campus.
Long-term they hope to provide detailed studies into the impact the 1986 disaster continues to have on plants, animals and humans.
A plume of harmful material including particles known as radioactive isotopes were released by the explosion, which means the immediate area around the plant is still uninhabitable and thousands of square miles outside it are still contaminated.
George Shaw, professor of environmental science, at the university, said: “The radioactive isotope which received most attention after the emergency phase of the Chernobyl accident was caesium-137.
“This has a 30-year half-life and is readily absorbed by plants and animals, so can contaminate our agriculture and food supply. It can still be measured in soils across Europe but its impact has diminished significantly over the last 30 years.”
The exclusion zone surrounding Chernobyl is seen by experts as an outdoor laboratory in where long-term effects of large-scale radioactive contamination can be studied.
Prof Shaw added: “Our current understanding is hampered by a lack of measurements on the long-term behaviour of radioisotopes under natural conditions. The results of our studies will help us understand the implications of disposing of long-lived radioactive wastes underground.”
Experts from the university visited Chernobyl last year and are continuing to study collected soil.
While collecting the samples in Ukraine scientists had to wear protective suits and face masks, and carry personal radiation monitors.
Dozens of people died in the immediate fall-out of the disaster and thousands more are believed to have fallen ill and died from cancer or other related diseases due to contamination in the years since.
