Newsletter no. 3

The TREE project has been named Research Project of the Year by the Times Higher Education Newspaper

TREE project studies in the prestigious ceremony held at collaboration with Ukrainian Chernobyl Exclusion Zone the Grosvenor House Hotel, colleagues was impressive in and associated public out- Park Lane, London attended the way that it used reach activities has been by over a 1000 guests “groundbreaking radiological named Research Project of Including Jo Johnson, methods to explore the im- the Year by the Times Higher Minister of State for pact of nuclear radiation on Education Newspaper Universities, Science, wildlife in the Chernobyl Dr Mike Wood from the Research and Innovation. area". University of Salford and The judges said the research For more information on this Professor Nick Beresford had captured the imagination work see webpage. received the award on the and attention of people 24thNovember at a worldwide and that the TREE — REDFIRE

TREE partners NERC-CEH, that about 80 percent of the on the recovery of the forest University of Salford and forest was burnt. The Red ecosystems exposed to University of Nottingham Forest is the most another stressor (i.e. fire). have been awarded a NERC anthropogenically PI: Prof. Nick Beresford Urgency Grant to study the contaminated radioactive (NERC-CEH) effects of a major fire which ecosystem on earth and affected an area known as reports of effects on its For more information see the ‘Red Forest’ in the wildlife continue to be pub- webpage. Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. lished. The fire presented a unique opportunity to study Words and pictures by Nick In July 2016 there was a the effect of fire on i) radionu- Beresford (NERC-CEH) severe fire in the Red Forest clide mobility/bioavailability and local contacts reported and ii) the impact of radiation

Left image: The Red forest in September 2016 after the fire Right image: Working in the Red Forest for TREE project in April 2016 before the fire; RED FIRE will build upon these TREE studies

March 2017 Newsletter no. 3 Chernobyl 30 Years On: Developmental Effects on Aquatic Invertebrates

In June of 2015, fellow TREE water, we calculated total We modelled the relationship researcher Adelaide dose rates received by the between radiation dose rates Lerebours and I travelled to organism at these lakes. and developmental stability, Belarus to begin sampling of To assess potential and found no evidence of aquatic systems impacted by developmental effects of 30 developmental effects in this the Chernobyl accident. years of radiation exposure on aquatic invertebrate following Working with TREE project this aquatic invertebrate, a 30 years of radiation collaborators from the technique called fluctuating exposure. Since this organism Belarusian and Ukrainian asymmetry was used. has one generation per year, National Academy of Sciences Fluctuating asymmetry is a one possible explanation for led by Liubov Nagorskaya and method of assessing the the lack of an observed effect Dmitri Gudkov, we sampled a developmental stability of an may be due to adaption to total of six lakes along a organism by studying the radiation stress in this animal. gradient of contamination. In bilateral symmetry, e.g. the Our study was the first to find the Ukraine, we sampled two assumption that the left and no increase in developmental highly contaminated lakes right side of an organism are instability in organisms from close to the Chernobyl completely identical. Since Chernobyl and provides Nuclear Power Plant symmetry represents a important information about (Glubokoye and Yanovsky ‘perfect’ form for a given the long term impacts of Crawl), and one control lake organism, departures from radiation exposure on close to Kiev (Gorova). In symmetry are used to indicate ecosystems. This research Belarus, two reference departures from the norm and has been published in Science (Stoyacheye and Dvorische) the developmental stability of of The Total Environment and a contaminated lake the study organism. This is (Fuller et al., 2017). (Svatoye #3) were studied. We achieved by measuringtitle Future and ongoing research collected samples of the symmetrical characters and within the TREE project will freshwater crustacean, Asellus then calculating right minus aim to reveal the genetic aquaticus, by kick netting from left differences as an diversity of crustacean each of the lakes, along with indication of fluctuating populations around Chernobyl data regarding the chemical asymmetry. In this study, we and answer some of the and hydrological compositions measured five symmetrical questions raised by this work. of the lakes that may be characters of the organism, confounding factors. Using the with a total of 3988 Words and pictures by Neil ERICA software tool and measurements across 394 Fuller activity concentrations of organisms. radionuclides in sediment and

The Belarusian Research Team! Sorting of samples at Field Sampling at Lake Lake Stoyacheye, Stoyecheye, Belarus

March 2017 Newsletter no. 3 RATE — TREE Summer School 2015 In September 2015, RATE al to be disposed of appropri- belongings could be seen in researchers met at Boryspil ately. houses and other buildings. It Airport, Kiev for the TREE Monitoring radiation in the was an eerie place to walk Summer School. Most of the surrounding environment is through but there was also a group were PhD students and ongoing. Much of the future sense of natural restoration. were travelling to Chernobyl to work will be conducted by the Trees were growing over and learn about the accident and newly refurbished Ecocentre even through some of the the legacy it has left in the laboratories in the town of buildings, and there was surrounding environment. The Chernobyl. As well as getting evidence of animals visit was organised by TREE a tour of these labs, the PhD everywhere. Camera traps project partners at the students conducted some field and sound recorders here and Ukrainian Hydrometeorological work in areas contaminated by at many other sites within the Institute and the Chernobyl radioactivity. We visited part of Exclusion Zone have been International Radioecology the Red Forest which radiation capturing images and sounds Laboratory. poisoning killed after the of these animals. Our group To reach Chernobyl power accident. Carrying Geiger also seen the “monster” 2.5 plant, our group passed counters, our group observed metre catfish (this is a normal through armed checkpoints increases in radioactivity as size for catfish) living in the which mark the Chernobyl we walked towards the Chernobyl cooling ponds. Exclusion Zone in Ukraine. We re-growing forest. Despite witnessing relatively stood within 250 metres of a One highlight of the school high radiation within the structure called the was a visit to the city of Pripyat exclusion zone, it is obvious Sarcophagus which entombs which was built to house the that this is becoming a haven the exploded Reactor 4. power plant workers. The for wildlife. The consensus Facing this was the “The New group spent some time after our summer school was Safe Confinement”; a £1 wandering around the iconic that the effects of radiation, at billion steel structure which will Pripyat amusement park with least in some areas, appear to not only replace the its rusting Ferris Wheel. be less detrimental to wildlife Sarcophagus but also create Pripyat is now a ghost city, than the presence of humans. safer conditions in which to haunted by graffiti. In a remove the radioactive materi- neighbouring village, Words and Pictures by abandoned personal Kieran Tiernay

Left image: The rusting Pripyat Ferris Wheel. Right image: A doll in an abandoned house in the village of Buryakovka

TREE — YouTube videos As part of the summer  Wildlife within the  Plant physiology in school, several YouTube exclusion zone; Chernobyl; videos was produced  Radiation transfer to  Expression of plant including an overview of the Chernobyl; carotenoids; summer school . Further  Assessing radiation in  Researching the videos include: trees and soil; Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

March 2017 Newsletter no. 3 TREE goes underground: HydroFRAME Summer School

In August, 2016 TREE PhD hydromechanical and located 450m below the students were invited to biogeochemical processes. surface of the Alps and is take part in a week-long To enhance consortia accessed via a complex summer residential course understanding of these tunnel system bored into based at Imperial College principles, guests had the rock, an ideal location for London. The students were choice of three practical related studies. introduced to a wider computer workshops on Researchers working on context of research within geomechanical, projects offered a tour of a the RATE programme in the geochemical or brand new wireless monitor- form of presentations by groundwater flow modelling. ing system and radionuclide fellow postgraduate re- Once the students were transport experiments searchers, PDRAs, PIs and familiar with concepts and amongst other in situ tests. industrial partners. A series practices they had the All of the students appreci- of lectures was held at the opportunity to see first-hand ated the chance to attend Royal School of Mines with an active research facility in and would like to express topics surrounding deep Switzerland at the Nagra thanks to all those involved geological waste disposal Grimsel Test Site. This who made it possible. and detailed research of deep-level laboratory is Words by Nicol Caplin

Left image: Hydroframe summer school participants in London Right image: Hydroframe summer school participants in Switzerland

Congratulations to TREE PhD students

Cat Raines (University of Moo Aramrun (University Nicol Caplin (UWE) — Stirling ) — winner of the 2016 of Salford) — winner of the winner of the NERC COGER student prize 2016 COGER student prize. public engagement poster competition 2016

March 2017 Newsletter no. 3 TREE — PhD student working at the Diamond synchrotron

Heather Sanders (TREE PhD at Nottingham) worked at the Diamond synchrotron in Jan- uary 2017 with two of her supervisors (Liz Bailey and Scott Young). She used the facility to study the interactions of Se and Tc with soils and humic acids.

Annual meeting — November 2016

The annual TREE meeting took place in November 2016, in Lancaster. The meeting was coordinated by Prof. Nick Beresford (CEH, Lancaster) who is now the PI for the RATE TREE project due to the retirement Prof. Brenda Howard (CEH, Lancaster). Picture: Mike Wood

Apologies it has been so long since the last newsletter—we hope to send the next issue out in October 2017.

We acknowledge the Natural Environment Research Council, Radioactive Waste Management Limited and Environment Agency for the funding received for TREE through the Radioactivity and the Environment (RATE) programme. www.ceh.ac.uk/tree

March 2017 Newsletter no. 3