The potential for radioactive material to leak into the natural environment around the damaged Japanese reactors prompted a quick look on the web to see whether there had been any reports on trees being affected by radioactivity after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.

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Well, 6 years after the Chernobyl leak, the following article appeared.

Police in Ukraine have impounded a number of radioactive Christmas trees, reports say.

The trees were said to have been cut down in an area contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.

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Officials seized the fir trees at local markets in the southern town of Rovno, where they were being sold for the upcoming Orthodox Christmas, Itar-Tass agency reported.

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After the region was covered by a radioactive cloud, a complete ban on the felling of trees in the contaminated forests surrounding Chernobyl was imposed.

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Police said the local businessmen knew the trees from the Zhytomyr region were contaminated, and used forged documents to sell them.

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The authorities are now trying to trace people who have already bought the trees.

See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2613039.stm

Last updated: 0000-00-00 00:00:00