May 2, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Why European boars became radioactive


The number of wild boars in Europe has increased significantly. The reason was the ban on the use of their meat, recognized as radioactive.

How writes BB.LV, the competent authorities explained this at one time by the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which occurred in 1986 in Ukraine. However, the real reason was revealed only now, after the publication of scientific research. publications in Environmental Science & Technology, where German and Austrian scientists presented their findings.

They argue that the radioactivity of wild boar meat is due to the long-term exposure to nuclear tests that took place back in the middle of the last century. During the study, scientists studied tissue samples of 48 wild boars from local forests, which were provided to them by Bavarian hunters.

Under laboratory conditions, the meat was examined for the presence of radioactive cesium isotopes in it, the analysis showed its high content. The indicators exceeded the established European MPCs in 88% of the studied samples.

Scientists noticed that the emissions from the reactor accident and the detonation of a nuclear charge differ in the ratio of cesium-137 and 135 isotopes. The proportions revealed indicated that European wild boars were exposed not only to the consequences of the Chernobyl accident, but also to nuclear weapons testing. The ratio depended on the individual samples and varied from 10 to 99%, depending on how much the tests contributed.



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