# Chernobyl's impact on Wildlife query

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chernobyls-impact-on-wildlife-query/106958>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 2, 2002, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chernobyls-impact-on-wildlife-query/106958 "2002-05-02T23:27:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chernobyls-impact-on-wildlife-query/106958/1 "2002-05-02T23:27:17Z")

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I’ve been spending days looking on the internet and in the local library for research material for a Term Paper I have to do. I ask my fellow dopers, as a favor to a panicked college student whose AA degree hinges on getting this paper done well or not, to suggest some places/offer links/personal wisdom about this subject.

The problem is, there’s plenty of stuff about Chernobyl itself, but not much mention of how the radiation affected plants and animals in the area. Its an Environmental Science class, and I need plenty of legitimate material to satisfy my shrewd professor (He belittles us with the statement that his daughter had no problem doing such a paper in middle school)

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**Author:** ![welby1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@welby1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/welby1)\
**Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chernobyls-impact-on-wildlife-query/106958/2 "2002-05-03T02:14:19Z")

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My wife lived near Chernobyl when it went up, and has some results as an after effect. If you’d like I’ll be happy to pass along some questions to her.

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**Author:** ![evilhanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba8739/32.png) [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)\
**Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chernobyls-impact-on-wildlife-query/106958/3 "2002-05-03T02:36:26Z")

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You must not have tried very hard. Type “Chernobyl” and “wildlife” into Google. I got more than enough hits with information, names, and references to get started with a term paper.

Here are a couple of good ones on the first page:  
[Legacy of Chernobyl](http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/from_our_own_correspondent/newsid_1061000/1061703.stm)  
[Chernobyl Remembered](http://www.earthisland.org/eijournal/new_articles.cfm?articleID=394&journalID=59)  
[The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster and subsequent creation of a wildlife preserve](http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/chernobyl/wildlifepreserve.htm)

In short, the area around Chernobyl has become a wildlife refuge. Common and endangered species alike are thriving … just like I used to argue on the debate team 😃