What happened at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is the most terrible tragedy of the Soviet era. Many people died and were injured due to the explosion and further radioactive contamination of water, land and atmosphere. Despite this, what happened managed to acquire many myths and legends. Some people believe that real monsters live in the infected area, in which the forest inhabitants of those places and people who did not have time to leave the danger zone turned into. Are they right? Are there mutants in Chernobyl or is it just fiction? You can find answers to these questions in the article.
Chernobyl tragedy
April 26, 1986 will forever remain a day of mourning in the memory of people, because it was on that April morning that one of the most horrific nuclear disasters in the history of mankind occurred. Thirty-two years ago, an explosion that thundered at the fourth power unit of a nuclear power plant led to terrible consequences: the death of people from radioactivecontamination and exposure and environmental disaster.
The mass evacuation of people from the city of Pripyat helped to avoid more serious casu alties, but this tragedy affected residents of other cities and even countries. The reactor was completely destroyed. Scientists have calculated that more than 190 tons of radioactive substances got into the air and atmosphere. Traces of these particles have been found in Russia, Belarus, France, Finland and other parts of the world.
Urban legends
What kind of stories do not tell about Pripyat those who were able to get there. Stalkers - those who explore abandoned places - share stories about two-headed dogs, giant rats and frightening sounds coming from empty basements with great pleasure. They do it not without mercenary intent. The scarier the stories, the more people want to go there and see these creatures with their own eyes. Many stalkers have built their business on such bikes - a trip to Pripyat is not cheap. If you ask them: "Is it true that there are mutants in Chernobyl?", most likely, their answer will be yes.
Social networks and a new round of interest in Pripyat
With the advent and spread of the Internet, interest in the events of Chernobyl also returned. Many sites and groups on social networks are filled with frightening and mystical photographs of those places. On some of them you can see abnormally large mushrooms, trees with bizarre trunks, and even some incomprehensible blurry objects against the backdrop of lonely houses.
Among all the photographs, a large proportion are fakes. Often, under the guise of "photo with mutants" people post screenshots of games in the spirit of S. T. A. L. K. E. R. Not fair? Of course! But it is intriguing and sometimes even interesting. Distinguishing a fake from a real unusual photo is easy enough, but belief in the supernatural is so strong that sometimes people are happy to be deceived, thinking that all these toothy fish, ten-legged cows and giant kittens fused together are the terrible reality of Chernobyl.
Causes and processes of mutations
It's no secret that multicellular organisms that lived in the immediate vicinity of the reactor have undergone changes in DNA. A greater danger to living beings is the accelerated development of oncological diseases, which are the result of irradiation. If the reproductive system receives a stronger defeat, then the birth of offspring with deviations, including mutations, is possible. This applies to both people and animals.
Modern scientists are still not ready to draw unambiguous conclusions about the state of he alth of future generations. Although so far no mutational changes have been found in their genome. Of course, the animals that found themselves in the zone of the most powerful radioactive release received too high doses of radiation, and their genome underwent a number of changes, but the presence of mutant people in Chernobyl does not prove this.
Mushrooms with eyes and a cow with five heads
So are there mutants in Chernobyl? In that frightening and gloomy understanding that drawsus the film industry and computer games. Mutated animals and plants were found on the territory of Pripyat. But are there mutants in Chernobyl? Photos that people who are interested in the exclusion zone from a scientific point of view can provide can terrify anyone. Radiation sickness, its consequences and complications left indelible scars on the lives of many people, but the fact of mutations in the genome of at least one person has not been proven.
Are there mutants in Chernobyl? Yes! Are there human mutants in Chernobyl? Not! No matter how many tales the stalkers tell, there is not a single documentary evidence. Indeed, photographs of those places often look terrifying: giant trees sprouting through the roofs of houses, rusted to the base of the structure of garages, household garbage and packs of abandoned dogs. It’s scary to be there at night, and during the day these landscapes resemble frames from a post-apocalyptic film, but that’s probably all - many-headed people and gigantic giants with a dozen eyes do not meet here.
There is some truth in every fairy tale
Scientists have been trying for more than 60 years to understand how radiation affects a person and what dose of radiation is needed to start the process of mutation in the human body. Despite the abundance of frightening photographs of people who survived the disaster and their children, the result of these conditions was the fact of exposure, which does not always lead to real changes at the gene level.
Giant mushrooms can be found in Chernobyl, but they won't have eyes, and they definitely won't try youeat. The same goes for other living beings. The terrible seal of what happened will lie on these places for years, and maybe centuries, as a reminder that you will have to pay for every mistake.
Don't go kids… and not only kids
In the exclusion zone itself, people, of course, do not live, but there are quite a lot of them in the surrounding areas. Their he alth often leaves much to be desired. The reason for this is not only the accident at the nuclear power plant, but also the general ecological state: very bad water, polluted air and soil, so a trip to Pripyat can hardly be called a "fun trip".
It's still not safe to be in this area. Although "legitimate tourism" is developing more and more actively. The desire to go to Pripyat unaccompanied can be a very bad idea. Many buildings there are kept on parole, and there are asph alt failures on the roads. At night, this area turns into an obstacle course. Therefore, it is best to explore Chernobyl accompanied by a knowledgeable and experienced stalker guide and be sure to legally!
So, answering the question of whether there are mutants in Chernobyl, you can answer with almost 100% certainty that yes. But these are far from the creatures that everyone thinks about, thanks to computer games, books and films. These are animals and plants affected by radiation, as well as people suffering from radiation sickness. At the same time, their DNA did not mutate to the point where they begin to turn into something else. That's why everythingurban legends, myths and tales will remain urban legends, myths and tales that have little more in common with reality than nothing.
