Sounders of wild boar living in Southern Germany and Austria have become radioactive following nuclear testing that took place in the 1950s and 1960s, according to a recent study published in the Environmental Science and Technology journal. The revelation dispells the original notion that animals began carrying high levels of the radioactive isotope cesium-137 after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.
The study, conducted by German and Austrian scientists and researchers, measured cesium levels in boar meat from Bavaria in Southern Germany using a gamma ray detector to learn from where the high radioactive came.
The researchers found that up to 68 percent of radioactive contamination came from international nuclear testing as they knew a higher ratio of celsium-135 and celsium-137 is inactive of nuclear testing rather than being emitted from reactors.
They also discovered that 88 percent of the meat samples used, which were widely available to purchase and consume, exceeded the safety limit for radioactivity in food. The researchers even concluded: “Once released, radio cesium will remain in the environment for generations and impact food safety immediately and… for decades.”
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“It is a cautionary tale that the long-forgotten atmospheric nuclear weapons tests and their fallout still cast a shadow on the environment,” said Georg Steinhauser, who participated in the research.
“Just because they took place 60 years ago doesn’t mean that they no longer impact the ecosystem,” he added.
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