3 ms·
What is the role of cancer and birth defects in the animal population in these areas? Those are very significant issues for humans that make us very scared of r
by jl6 5y ago
What is the role of cancer and birth defects in the animal population in these areas? Those are very significant issues for humans that make us very scared of radioactive contamination. Are animals impacted less (maybe due to shorter reproduction cycles or larger litters?)?
- concordDance 5y agoI think it's that a 10% chance of dying of cancer before old age is unacceptable to humans but won't have a big effect on population. Similarly, a 10% chance of birth defects isn't relevant to most species as a large proportion (often more than half) of their young die before adulthood anyway.
- akiselev 5y agoIIRC animals living in the Chernobyl exclusion zone have a 20-30% lower lifespan on average with a high variance (some animals lives’ might be cut in half while others may be better adapted and live more or less the same amount). That’s fine when the alternative is extinction but not when one wants to meet their grandkids.