Nuclear weapons tests blamed for radioactive European boar - The Times
Nuclear weapons tests blamed for radioactive European boar
SCIENCE
new
It was previously thought that the radioactivity was a result of the Chernobyl disaster
If you go down to the woods of central Europe today, you are in for a big surprise: radioactive pigs.
Scientists have found that wild boar in the forests of Germany and Austria are so radioactive that they are unsafe to eat and have discovered that this is not because of the Chernobyl disaster, as was previously assumed.
Researchers from the Vienna University of Technology have concluded that testing of nuclear weapons in the decades immediately after the Second World War is still affecting the soil in areas where the boar live in Germany.
Wild boar lose their stripes as they age but dangerous radioactivity remains
JOACHIM REDDEMANN
The tusked, shaggy haired pigs roam the forests of central Europe in large numbers, protected from hunters by the fact that the radioactive cesium levels in their bodies are above that
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: nuclear
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Advocates have called for an expanded role for nuclear as an emissions-free fuel source. But the economics of building new reactors are daunting. In addition, lingering safety concerns are an institutionalized part of the calculation of nuclear regulation, and highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a can that public officials have been inclined to kick down the road. The Energy Information Administration projects a sharp decline in nuclear power generation over the next decade, as new nuclear plants — two are planned — are more than offset by anticipated retirements of several operating reactors.