Blog #187--Nature's Remarkable Adaptation to Catastrophe

We all knew it was a devastating accident, but being so far away from Chernobyl’s nuclear power plant melt down on April 26, 1986 made it easier to overlook the long-term implications. The exposure of massive amounts of radioactive waste to the surrounding environment forced the evacuation of 1000 square miles. And we were told it would be thousands of years before the area was habitable again. But it didn’t affect us personally.

That is, until a Ukrainian citizen and his wife came to our bookstore one day. The man was in the United States to obtain treatment for radiation poisoning that had practically destroyed his lungs. After browsing the store, he offered to create a website for us. Computers were just beginning their popularity, and he thought he could take advantage of that by getting our store’s name out where many people could find it. We decided to trust him, and it has allowed us to keep our shop open as an Internet store long after we had to close our physical store.

We are grateful he came along. We are also grateful he could survive despite being near death multiple times. He brought the entire Chernobyl incident squarely into our home with his hair-raising travails. This was a major disaster, and no amount of cover-up regarding the dangers associated with fissionable materials will ever again deceive us into thinking they can somehow be controlled safely.

It all came back into clear memory for my wife and I when the Animal Planet television channel broadcast a documentary on a return to Chernobyl on the 30th year anniversary of the meltdown. Called “Life After Chernobyl,” it outlined not only the severe devastation near the nuclear reactor but also the ways at least some species have found to survive despite high radiation levels. The whole process over the past 30 years shows clearly how natural selection and survival of the fittest operate.

First there was the destruction. There are areas near the reactor that are completely dead. No life can exist there for long. The many mutations and resulting genetic defects caused by the radioactive fallout have been well documented over the years, and many species either died out entirely or lost a high percentage of its members. There are also areas in the waters near the reactor where no life resides.

Przewalski’s horses, a separate wild horse species that is endangered, were transported to an area adjacent to hot spots in the hope they could repopulate in relative solitude. And they did proliferate for awhile. But little by little, a number of them have been lost. A recent study found they are gradually building up radiation in their tissues, in part from their diet, and they are beginning to show the destructive effects of radiation poisoning.

Wolves survive in the area, but there are indications the survivors are more dominant and aggressive than their ancestors. Perhaps their genetic makeup allows only the most aggressive members to survive and carry on their genes through their offspring. Or perhaps they are more reactive due to high stress levels. Regardless, they behave differently.

Catfish have changed also. A Wels catfish caught recently was seven feet long, definitely bigger than its predecessors. Perhaps there is some truth, at least with a few species, to the notion radiation can produce “monsters.” Regardless of the size differential, something is making the catfish survive in large numbers in radioactive waters. Scientists have proven this change is due to genetic mutation. The DNA has definitely changed.

Some small birds were caught and examined because they seemed to be thriving unchanged after 30 years. Studies determined they had adapted through DNA mutation to produce an anti-oxidant that neutralizes the radiation effects. This could be a breakthrough scientists have long sought for treating radiation poisoning. If an anti-oxidant can be produced that does this same thing for humans, it will help the citizens of Earth through nuclear devastation, a likely future prospect given the large number of nuclear power plants, nuclear warheads and nuclear-powered planes and ships now in existence.

It is estimated that around 150 people have secretly slipped back into their original homes within the contaminated area. One elderly couple, who live an extremely difficult life trying to survive on what they can grow, moved back home after two years of being shunned elsewhere. People can be cruel, and no one wanted to live near someone who might be carrying radiation, even though their chances of exposure were minimal at best. Some people are living with radiation.

Nature has begun to adapt. And it is doing so at a much faster rate than we had a right to hope. Unfortunately, not everything is good news. The so-called “red-zone,” the area where radiation has destroyed everything, shows clearly how all life is connected. The leaves and wood from the forest have not decayed because there are no microorganisms to break them down for use as nourishment for future plants and trees. As a result, everything is extremely dry and vulnerable to fire.

If a fire begins in this area, large numbers of additional people and other life forms will be poisoned as radiation follows the billowing smoke and the ever-changing winds to areas far removed from the original contamination zone. All it would take is a year or two of low precipitation, followed by a lightning strike, and everything for many miles around could be impacted. Some of that radiation could get up into the jet stream and travel all over the world in fairly short order.

Chernobyl is a gift that keeps on destroying, and it will continue to do so for many years to come. This could be the tip of an enormous iceberg, given man’s inhumanity to man and eagerness to soil his own bed. Another accident like Chernobyl and Fukushima is inevitable. Nature will eventually adapt, as it always does, but will people be around to appreciate it? Maybe an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.

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