harmful effects of radio active contamination on plants animals and human being
Answers
Effects of Radiation on Plants:
Radiations have a positive effect on plant growth at lower radiation levels and harmful effects at high levels. Plants need some types of non-ionizing radiation like sun-light for photosynthesis. Though these solar radiations are vital for the survival of plants but some other forms of non-ionizing and ionizing radiations are deleterious for plants.
Ultraviolet radiation affects plant growth and sprouting and the amount of damage is proportional to the radiation received. Due to radiation exposure soil can become compact and lose the nutrients needed for plants to grow. The experiments conducted in laboratories by supplying ultraviolet radiation through filtered lamps proved that higher doses of radiation administered to the plants were highly damaging.
Effects of Radiation on Animals:
Biological effects of radiation are generally common to man and animals. Higher animals are more susceptible to genetic damages due to radiation. Exposure is high in higher animals than the lower animals such as flies and insects. Studies on Drosophila have shown that mutation rates were increased enormously on radiation exposure.
After the Chernobyl accident in Soviet Ukraine high levels of cesium-137 and iodine-131 accumulation were reported in reindeer herds of Sweden and Norway. Ce-137 and I-131 accumulate severely in plant and animal tissues. Many Rodents die immediately after leakage. Commissioning of Boiling Water Power Reactor (BWRS) in USA, Europe and India and other countries have enormously polluted the environment.