Chernobyl Legacy Still Lingering - Scientists

LONDON (Reuters) - The legacy of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster is lingering with unexpectedly high levels of radioactivity which will last for 50 more years -- 100 times longer than expected, scientists warned Wednesday.

They have shown that radioactive cesium from the fallout of the 1986 accident can remain in the environment much longer than scientists had previously anticipated.

``By looking at the levels of radioactivity of fish in lakes in Cumbria (northern England) and Norway, we have found that levels of one particular element, radioactive cesium, are still unexpectedly high,'' Dr Jim Smith, of the Center for Ecology and Hydrology in Dorchester, southwestern England, said in a statement.

Smith and his colleagues on the international research project, whose work is reported in the science journal Nature, said restrictions on foodstuffs in Britain and in the former Soviet Union may need to be retained for a further 10-15 years.

Speak your mind Discuss this story with other people. [Start a Conversation] (Requires Yahoo! Messenger)

``During the first five years after Chernobyl, concentration of radioactive cesium in most foodstuffs and water decreased by a factor of 10, but in the last few years they have changed very little. The environment is not cleaning itself of the pollution at a rate we previously thought,'' he explained.

The researchers measured concentrations of the radioactive element in vegetation, lakes and species of fish. They emphasized that the risk to consumers is small but said precautions must still be taken.

In Britain, 389 farms have restrictions on the sale and slaughter of sheep which the researchers say will have to continue for a total of 30 years after the accident.

``In some areas of the former Soviet Union, consumption of forest berries, fungi and fish, which contribute significantly to people's radiation exposure, will need to be restricted for at least a further 50 years,'' Smith said.

The disaster at Chernobyl in the former Soviet republic of Ukraine killed 31 people and sent a radioactive cloud across parts of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Western Europe.

Last month Ukraine said some 3.5 million people, over a third of them children, had suffered illness as a result of the contamination and the incidence of some cancers was 10 times the national average.