Chernobyl Sanctuary Set Aside for Study of Accident’s Effects
The area contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear accident will be made a sanctuary to study such phenomena as strangely heavy pine needles and rodents with genetic abnormalities, Tass press agency said today.
Three regions of Byelorussia that were evacuated after the 1986 accident will be set aside for scientists to observe how radiation affects plants and wildlife, Tass said.
Tass said pine needles in parts of the poisoned forests remain normal size but are 10 times heavier than normal and that some conifers have grown into giants.
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