Farmland near Chernobyl nuclear disaster site 'safe' to grow crops: Report

Recent surveys conducted at farmlands near the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster site revealed that radiation levels have gone down, making it apparently safe to use for growing food.

The 1986 catastrophe at Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear reactor was the largest uncontrolled radioactive leak in history which released cancer-causing material in large quantities. The nuclear disaster reportedly forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate the city and ever since the area remained abandoned.

Not just people, the nuclear disaster impacted animals and also caused damage to crops, plants and infrastructure. Authorities have set up the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) to prevent people from entering the restricted 1,000-square-mile area.

An article by New Scientist, titled, "Farmland near Chernobyl nuclear reactor is finally safe to use again",suggested that the large farmlands, which were classified as contaminated, can be used again for growing crops. The farmlands had been left alone since the disaster over 37 years ago.

The article,published on Wednesday (Jun 19), noted that changing the status of the land could help compensate for farmland lost as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Scientists have used robots, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and more to carry out several surveys of the disaster site, with the aim of finding out the radiation levels in the area.

As quoted by New Scientist, Valery Kashparov at the National University of Life and Environmental Science of Ukraine, said, "More than 80 per cent of [surveyed] territory can be returned to agricultural production."

Kashparov's team has been assessing the radioactivity of the land for more than a decade. The recent surveys have revealed that levels are still high in many areas of the major exclusion zone closest to the nuclear facility.

However, the land that is quite further out is still officially classified as radioactively contaminated, but maybe they have dropped below the threshold considered unsafe.

The report mentioned that the most recent survey was carried out in 2023 by Volodymyr Illienko, who is also at the National University of Life and Environmental Science. Illienko and his colleagues measured radioactivity levels on 2600 hectares around the settlements of Narodychi and Vyazivka.

Illienko told New Scientist: "We didn't find a higher level than permissible."

(With inputs from agencies)