The nuclear weapons tests from the mid-20th century could be the one of the significant causes of increased radioactivity found in the German wild boars, according to a recent study. It was previously believed that the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 was the major contributor in making Germany’s wild boars too radioactive.
However, with the help of the new study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology it has now been concluded that the nuclear testing in the 1960s is the major reason behind it. The study was undertaken when it was found that the radioactivity in other wild animals have shown a significant decline while the wild pigs’ contamination level never showed any decline, which was then termed as “wild boar paradox.”
For the study, meat testing of 48 boars in the state of Bavaria, Germany, was conducted by the scientists of Vienna’s University of Technology and Leibniz University Hannover. The team found that their radioactivity remained at a significant level. The increased radioactivity was caused by the Cold War era nuclear bomb blasts, which still affect the soil in the area, the study published on August 30 concluded.
The scientists said the radioactive cesium from the tests have been seen to sink into the soil which has contaminated the truffles which happens to be the food of wild boars. They usually dig into the soil to find the truffles.
Radio ecologist Felix from Leibniz University Hannover in Germany wrote in the research paper, “Our work reveals deeper insights into the notorious radio-cesium contamination in Bavarian wild boars beyond the total radionuclide quantification only.”
After the nuclear explosions, radioactive materials released into the environment have a significant threat to ecosystems. Additionally, after the Chernobyl disaster 37 years ago, there was an increase in radioactive cesium contamination in the area — particularly to cesium-137, which has a half-life of about 30 years.
According to previous research, the ratio of cesium-135 to cesium-137 can determine where the cesium came from as it can be a result of a high ratio of nuclear weapon explosions. With that, the researcher stated that any future nuclear explosions will only increase the current contamination of these animals and have severe repercussions on food safety.
