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Butterflies Collected Near Fukushima Meltdown Suffer Deformities
August 14, 2012
According to an article published in the British journal Nature, research conducted on the Japanese pale grass blue butterfly near the Fukushima nuclear disaster area show significant abnormalities in the species since the time of the accident.
Japanese researchers have collected hundreds of the insects, some with indented eyes, deformed antennae and stunted wings.
NBC News reports although just 10 percent of the butterflies collected soon after the meltdowns showed signs of mutation, some 33 percent of the second generation of butterflies show some kind of deformity.
Radioactive fallout permeates the soil, eventually absorbed into vegetation and finally ingested by the butterfly and its larva. Scientists are now looking to study other organisms in hopes of learning more.
Photo courtesy ©Taiyo Fujii
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