Radiation’s Long And Short-Term Effects
In the year after the accident, farmers near Chernobyl observed several alarming genetic and physiological mutations. There have been common reports of animals born too short, with too many legs, or deformed facial features. Long-term experiments on the impact of radiation on various species appear to suggest, considering the detrimental short-term effects, that animals are more immune to radiation poisoning than scientists assumed. The flourishing wildlife in the exclusion zone is evidence of this.
Radiation’s Long And Short Term Effects
How Does Radiation Cause Mutation?
Radiation-induced mutations fall into two categories: Germline mutations that can be transmitted to future generations in sperm or eggs’ DNA. Some mutations affect cellular DNA that causes cancer that is not normally passed on. The lack of a control group makes it impossible to research the extent to which radiation exposure triggers these mutations. Still, scientists from the World Health Organization estimate that the Chernobyl accident will possibly be traced to over 4,000 human deaths due to cancer.
How Does Radiation Cause Mutation
