Chernobyl was an ecological disaster that happened In Ukraine in 1986. Aside from the ecological issues that the chemical plant explosion caused, genetic issues also arose. The problem was that radiation was all over the environment after the chemical plant explosion. Radiation causes many immediate and long lasting health effects to organisms including; burns, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and damage to blood. Since some of the immediate health effects from radiation has already been discovered, this article goes over a study about long lasting health effects.
The University of Sterling did an experiment on Honey Bees and high radiation exposure. The study showed that less Queen Bees were produced, meaning there was stress in the colony. Another thing that was noted was that the experimental bumble bee colonies grew at a slower rate. These studies show that future bee populations around the Chernobyl area will begin to decline from the radiation levels. This is a good study to look at for the future so that we know the long lasting effects of a future chemical plant explosion.
