Forest Near Fukushima Is Now Riddled With Mutations

As the 5 year anniversary of the Fukushima earthquake looms, the Japanese government is busy decontaminating the area, in the hopes that they will soon be able to lift the evacuation orders for the villages that surround Fukushima’s nuclear power plant. Unfortunately the region in question is probably still contaminated, and may remain so for the foreseeable future.

According to a recent report posted by Greenpeace, which cited several international peer-reviewed studies, the forest near Fukushima is beginning to show signs of radiation induced mutations. As seasonal rains wash away contaminants in residential areas, the forest is slowly becoming a “radiation reservoir.” The report found an “apparent increases in growth mutations of fir trees… heritable mutations in pale blue grass butterfly populations” and “DNA-damaged worms in highly contaminated areas.”

The author of the report also added that “In the interest of human rights — especially for victims of the disaster — it is ever more urgent to ensure accurate and complete information is publicly available and the misleading rhetoric of these entities challenged.”

Despite the evidence, researchers and doctors have cautioned against drawing any conclusions, and suggested that more research needs to be done on the long-term effects of radiation on the environment and on the population of Fukushima.