A radiation measurement being carried out in the Chernobyl exclusion zone SERGEY DOLZHENKO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Large areas of farmland around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor that are officially classed as contaminated now appear to be safe to use for growing food, as surveys show radiation levels have fallen below the levels regarded as unsafe according to Ukrainian regulations. Changing the status of this land could help compensate for farmland lost as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“More than 80 per cent of [surveyed] territory can be returned to agricultural production,” says Valery Kashparov at the National University of…