National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Monday, November 23, 2009

Photo: Chernobyl Birds' Defects Link Radiation, Not Stress, to Human Ailments


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Images of barn swallows living near the site of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explosion show a variety of abnormal features. Picture (a) shows a normal swallow, while the other pictures show signs of albinism (white feathers), deformed beaks, deformed air sacs, and bent tail feathers.

The high levels of abnormalities in the birds suggest that radiation is also the culprit in the higher than average levels of health issues in humans living near Chernobyl—a direct contradiction to a World Health Organization-led report blaming social stresses for the ailments.

Photographs courtesy Tim Mousseau