The threats posed by global warming have led to the preference of most developed nations moving towards production of nuclear energy to replace the use of fossil fuels in energy production. Nuclear energy is said to be one of the best energy alternatives due to dependability and ability for production in large quantities. The increased setting of nuclear plants has raised issues due to the dangers that use of nuclear weapons can cause. The association of nuclear power and war tends to ignore the safety concerns that the nuclear plants poses if not operated under the international laws and guidelines. The Chornobyl nuclear explosion in 1986 portrayed the need for qualified staffs in nuclear plants. The incident that occurred 31 years ago is still termed as one of the greatest nuclear disasters due to the extent of radiation following the blast. The disaster can be a guideline for the need to improve safety and prevent the catastrophe that a similar incident can cause rather than basing all arguments about nuclear plants on the threat of war.
The 1986 incident claimed 56 lives at the time following the negligence of the plant operators as this section demonstrates. The plant located 11 miles north of Chornobyl let to radiation in an area estimated to be at least equal to half of Italy. Unqualified staffs, negligence, and poor safety measures caused the explosion in the four nuclear reactors on April 26, 1986. The operators ignored the need for high power during the testing process which caused the destabilization of the isotopes (Lusted, 2005). The facility was due for testing its backup power supply following its completion and opening in 1983, which was also a cause of the catastrophe due to the reactors being below the safety guidelines. The plant had been designed to produce electricity to support about 10% of the entire Chornobyl’s population. The drop in power caused by the low power used during the tests was dangerous and caused the levels of xenon-134 to rise rapidly (Lusted, 2005). Xenon-135 is known to be very unstable which would have resulted in stopping the testing process but due to unskilled operators and negligence, the testing continued. The call for the workers to remove the control rods and the cooling unit intensified the instability of the isotope. The shutdown and removal of the control rods and cooling system resulted in the rapid rise of power. The high power melted the control rods and broke the mounting steam, thus causing the nuclear explosion.
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The approximated amounts of radiation that escaped into the environment were approximately 13 to 30% radioactive toxins that polluted the environment (Lusted, 2005). The short-term effects such as chronic ailments of the workers due to the exposure of the radiation and 56 casualties seem to indicate that the Chornobyl incident was not such a catastrophic incident, but as most scientific studies demonstrate, radiation is one of the most devastating forms of pollution and remains in the environment for many years. Different scientific experiments on the effects other than the physical effects of radiation on humans have demonstrated that exposure to radiation has some of the most dangerous consequences.
The Research
Global warming is caused by humans due to their selfish desires to exploit the environment. Scientists tend to focus studies on natural or artificial disasters impacts on humans rather than focusing on researching on the impacts for instance of radiation exposure to plants, animals, and environmental conditions. These preferences by the scientists have led to limited studies that depict the effects of radiation and other disasters to animals, plants, and the environment. However, the study undertaken by a group of scientists to assess the implications of the Chornobyl nuclear plant explosion on the size of birds’ brains indicated that radiation known for increased oxidative stress in humans causes a decrease in the brain size compared to age and body size (Møller et al., 2011). The research based on the earlier electroencephalographic studies that demonstrated that low levels of ionizing radiation caused central and autonomous nervous systems to change thus resulting in radiogenic encephalopathy (Møller et al., 2011). The increased radiation released into the environment tended to increase the toxic compounds in the atmosphere hence requiring more oxygen to reach the brain for neuronal ion pumping and neurotransmitter production. These requirements are met based on the brain size; that is, the larger the brain, the more likely it will cope with the changes than a smaller brain can be able to cope with the increased toxicity. Other research on children in areas prone to radiation has demonstrated that post-traumatic stress is the main problem of radiation exposure, but there are studies that show that the cognitive performance following exposure is low (Mandal, 2017). These studies provided the basic platform for the study on the brain size of the Chornobyl’s birds.
The scientists undertaking the studies led by Møller, identified eight sites around Chornobyl in Ukraine to capture the birds with the barn sparrow being their main subjects of study. The eight sites would provide the best results due to the radiation spread and were the center of radiation exposure. By focusing on brain size in comparison to age and size of the birds, the study wanted to determine whether the brain size of the birds was similar to that of birds of same species in other regions and whether the sex of the birds influenced their response to the oxidative nature of the radiation (Gill, 2010). The group of scientists assumed that birds that would be trapped in the nets would be from the area. The assumption was based on birds’ studies that argue that birds tend to return to their original homes if they had encountered difficulties caused by sudden changes of the environment. The study intention to determine the brain size of the Chornobyl’s birds would ignore any data that over the more than the average range to enable factoring in migration of birds from different locations.
Undertaking the study during the breeding period was essential due to the preference of birds to breed in their place of origin. The move would enable fast trapping of the birds using the 35 12 m mist nets in the eight sites. These plans worked with the capture of 546 birds within a week. The experiment included morphological measurements in determining the body mass, the brain size and head size to determine the volume of the brain, and sexing and aging (Møller et al., 2011). The three measures namely morphological measurements in determining the body mass, the brain size and head size to determine the volume of the brain, and sexing and aging, would enable the scientists to determine the cause of radiation to the birds. Earlier studies on humans had demonstrated that oxidative increment caused traumatic stress that leads to the underdevelopment of the human brain amongst children. Undertaking the experiment would improve the understanding whether the change in brain size in the birds was similar to that of children or different (Møller et al., 2011). The experiment also ensured that all characteristics that would interfere with the outcome were factored in to provide the research was reliable. For instance, the migration of birds would have affected the results which entailed ignoring data that varied by large margins to the average results. The findings demonstrated that there was a 5% mean decrease in the size of the bird’s brain (Møller et al., 2011). Other data demonstrated that the yearling birds had smaller brains compared to the older birds depicting that age determine the ability to cope with radiation. Male birds had larger brains compared to the females thus suggesting that maternal passing of genes was a reason for the smaller brain in yearling birds and female birds.
It was evident that the head volume depicted a smaller brain in Chornobyl’s birds, which the study intended to prove it was because of the radiation levels caused by the nuclear plant. The differences in the relationship between the brain mass and the radiation among the species demonstrated that some species were better in adapting to the environment whereas other species were not. The yearlings having smaller brains compared to the older individuals demonstrated that radiation tends to affect smaller brains, which is termed as directional selection (Møller et al., 2011). As earlier claimed, the size of the brain is vital in protecting the effects of the oxidative impacts with the larger brains being better off compared to the smaller brains. The findings were explicit that the nuclear plant explosion is still affecting the environment 30 years since the catastrophe occurred (Møller et al., 2011). Some of the biological studies on birds, however argue that variations following any calamity in the environment among animals and plants are due to the survival requirements that require them to adapt to survive under the harsh conditions. For instance, extinction of animals over the years is caused by the inability to adapt to the environment thus the change in brain size was an adaptation technique for the birds. Other people may use studies on migrating birds that proves that the time of migration and the distance the birds fly during the migration consumes most of the energy thus sacrificing the brain size to conserve energy. These notions are limiting following a study by Battley and his colleagues that support demonstrated that birds sacrifice their organs to preserve energy, however, their study claimed that sacrificing the brain for energy is the last result due to the need of brain to acquire food and protection.
According to the survey by Battley and his colleagues concluded that birds with smaller brain mass have a lower success rate of finding food or escaping recapture compared to birds with larger brains. These findings prove that the birds could not have sacrificed the brain for energy. Battley et al., (2000) field study concluded that the even the slightest difference in the brain size is identifiable in the performance of the birds in field surveys. By using these arguments, it was evident that the brain size changes were due to the abundance of oxidative rates caused by the radiation exposure in the area. The radiation quantities may have been slightly above the safety rate, but they were causing harm to the birds and other animals in the area. It is unlikely that the brain size was caused by post-traumatic stress as it is in humans but the contamination was affecting the brain development of the birds.
The variation of brain size of the Chornobyl’s birds among the different species may also be due to their food rather than their ability to adapt to the radiation levels. These limitations may have influenced the result, but since the measurements demonstrated a reduced brain mass and volume, it is evident that radiation caused detrimental effects on animals. The cause of radiation, however, was not determined. The need to determine whether the smaller brains were due to consumption of contaminated food or inhaling toxic chemicals in the air portrays the need for future studies on radiation and birds’ brain size. The limited studies in the area make it difficult to determine the primary means of the radiation, but the success of the study is evidence to humans to be held accountable for the dangers they pose to animals and plants through negligence and their selfish desires to make their lives better.
Significance
The study on Chornobyl birds have smaller birds, provided the platform for future studies on the impacts of radiation and environmental pollution to nature and its inhabitants, which should be encouraged in the fight to mitigate global warming. It is through these studies that the user can learn that it is a regular thing for migrating birds to sacrifice some parts of their bodies to produce or conserve energy; however, shrinking their brains is their last option. The study enabled advancement in the survey on radiation and its effects on animal biology that have been ignored for many years. The Hiroshima attack has provided the guideline for the international community to refrain from using nuclear weapons due to the studies and catastrophic results; however, it is essential to understand the long-term impacts of radiation (Møller et al., 2011). These findings call for future studies to determine whether the brain size will change in the next 10 to 20 years. The study was thus a wake-up call for scientists to expand their field of study, which will help make the world worthwhile for all the inhabitants.
This paper has expounded the impacts of the Chornobyl’s nuclear plant explosion by analyzing the study on Chornobyl birds. It is evident that the study faced many problems, but it is easier to note its success. It is clear that the study demonstrated that Chornobyl’s birds had smaller brains compared to other birds in other areas of the same species. The yearling individuals had smaller brains compared to older individuals due to the directional selection of oxidative factors affecting brain development. The analysis also noted the issues that tend to affect birds and humans are relatively related. However the lack of decisiveness in the topic of radiation and its impacts on animals and plants calls for further studies to determine whether the cognitive factors are the only cause of brain size issues in humans.
References
Battley, P. F., Piersma, T., Dietz, M. W., Tang, S., Dekinga, A., and Hulsman, K. (2000). Empirical evidence for differential organ reductions during trans-oceanic bird flight. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences , 267 (1439), 191–195.
Lusted, M. A. (2005). Chornobyl Disaster eBook (Downloadable PDF) . New York: ABDO Digital.
Møller, A., Bonisoli-Alquati, A, Rudolfsen,G, and Mousseau, T., (2011). Chornobyl Birds Have Smaller Brains. Retrieved December 7, 2017, from http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016862#pone-0016862-t001.
Mandal, A, (2017, August 3). What is Oxidative Stress? News Medical Life Sciences, AZO Network . Retrieved on December 7, 2017, from http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Oxidative-Stress.aspx.
Gill, V, (2010, August 20,). Chornobyl species decline linked to DNA. BBC News, Science and Environment . Retrieved December 7, 2017, from http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-11023530
