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[Analysis of Microsatellite DNA in Rodents from Eastern Urals Radioactive Trace Zone and Contiguous Territories].

(PMID:27529979)
Rakitin SB , Grigorkina EB ,
Olenev GV
Genetika [01 Apr 2016, 52(4):453-460]


Type: English Abstract, Journal Article (lang: rus)
Abstract

The variability of four microsatellite loci of rodents, caught from the head part of Eastern Urals Radioactive Trace (EURT), along with the rodents inhabiting contiguous zone with background radiation level and distant-reference territory, was analyzed forthe first time. Differences in the parameters of genetic diversity between northern red-backed voles from the EURT zone and from the reference population were detected. An increase in some indices of genetic diversity in animals from a contiguous to the EURT zone was found; this is probably associated with animal migration and configuration of the area of pollution. A transfer of radiation-induced effects to the contiguous territories and a decrease in the possibility of fixation of adaptations in a series of generations of mobile rodent species in the area of local radioactive pollution are consequences of migrations. The results of the study make it possible to recommend microsatellite markers for the analysis of radiation-induced effects in rodents as model objects of radioecological monitoring.



Kyshtym Nuclear Accident

Mariah Lee
March 5, 2016


Submitted as coursework for PH241, Stanford University, Winter 2016

Background

Kyshtym is a small town in Russia near the southern Ural Mountains, about ninety kilometers from Chelyabinsk. Kyshtym is located near the Mayak Production Association, then known as Chelyabinsk 40 which produced plutonium for the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons starting in 1948 as a result of World War II. [1]
The Accident

On September 29th, 1957 the cooling system of one of the storage tanks at Chelyabinsk 40 failed. [1] The evaporation of the cooling liquid caused 70-80 tons of radioactive waste to increase in temperature leading to an explosion within the tank. [1] As a result, radioactive material ejected into the sky and diffused into the surrounding environment. Adopting the name of the nearby town, this became known as the Kyshtym Accident. Around 15,000 to 20,000 square kilometers of land was recorded as having high contamination levels. [1] An area around 1,000 square kilometers known as the East Urals Radioactive Trace (EURT) became delineated, which means the area was determined as hazardous and 10,700 people were evacuated. [1] At the time of the accident, 63% of the area was used for agricultural purposes, 20% was forested, and 23 rural communities existed in the area. [1] Usage of the area was banned until 1961. Nowadays, close to 180 square kilometers of land is safeguarded. [1]...