Radioactive snakes monitor nuclear fallout at Fukushima

Snakes fitted with tracking devices and dosimeters have been used to measure radiation levels in the area around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which suffered triple meltdowns in March 2011 and left an area of nearly 400 sq km still deemed unfit for human habitation. Scientists were able to monitor the levels of radiation, primarily radiocesium 134 and 137, in the snakes depending on their location and movements.

The researchers found that snakes in the exclusion zone showed body radiocesium levels around 22 times higher than those from outside. “Radiocesium 134 and 137 tends to bind to soil and accumulates in the muscle tissue of snakes,” said one of the lead researchers, Hannah Gerke. “But we don’t understand what level would be harmful.”