After the 1986 disaster, a 30-kilometer exclusion zone was created around the station, but scientists continued to study the effects of radiation on the environment. In 1997, Ukrainian mycologist Nelly Zhdanova discovered black mold on the walls and ceilings of the destroyed reactor. It turned out that the fungus does not avoid radiation, but, on the contrary, is drawn to it.
A key role in this process is played by melanin, a pigment found in the cell walls of fungi. The study found that when exposed to radioactive cesium, such mushrooms grow about 10% faster. Scientists called this process radiosynthesis – the conversion of ionizing radiation into energy suitable for growth.
Later, samples of the same type of fungus – Cladosporium sphaerospermum – were sent to the International Space Station. Under conditions of strong cosmic radiation, they grew 1.21 times faster than control samples on Earth, and at the same time partially shielded the radiation.
This discovery could have practical implications for future space missions, the publication notes. Instead of heavy metal radiation shields, scientists are considering using “living” walls made from mushrooms to protect astronauts on the Moon and Mars. Such structures could grow right in place and self-repair.
Context
The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in April 1986 became one of the largest industrial nuclear disasters in history. According to the international nuclear event scale adopted in 1988, the Chernobyl accident – one of two, which was rated at the maximum, seventh level of danger. The catastrophe at the Japanese nuclear power plant Fukushima-1 in 2011 is comparable in scale.
