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CHERNOBYL11. Chernobyl’s Radioactive Impacton Microbial BiotaAlexey V. YablokovOf the few microorganisms that have been studied, all underwent rapid changes inthe areas heavily contaminated by Chernobyl. Organisms such as tuberculosis bacilli;hepatitis, herpes, and tobacco mosaic viruses; cytomegalovirus; and soil micromycetesand bacteria were activated in various ways. The ultimate long-term consequences forthe Chernobyl microbiologic biota may be worse than what we know today. Comparedto humans and other mammals, the profound changes that take place among thesesmall live organisms with rapid reproductive turnover do not bode well for the healthand survival of other species.One gram of soil contains some 2,500,000,000microorganisms (bacteria, microfungi, and protozoa).Up to 3 kg of the mass of an adult humanbody is made up of bacteria, viruses, and microfungi.In spite of the fact that these representsuch important and fundamentally live ecosystemsthere are only scarce data on the variousmicrobiological consequences of the Chernobylcatastrophe.Several incidences of increased morbidityowing to certain infectious diseases may be dueto increased virulence of microbial populationsas a result of Chernobyl irradiation.1. Soon after the catastrophe studies observedactivation of retroviruses (Kavsanet al., 1992).2. There is evidence of increased susceptibilityto Pneumocystis carinii and cytomegalovirusin children whose immunesystems were suppressed in the contaminatedterritories of Novozybkov District,Bryansk Province (Lysenko et al., 1996).3. Tuberculosis became more virulent inthe more contaminated areas of Belarus(Chernetsky and Osynovsky, 1993; Belookaya,1993; Borschevsky et al., 1996).Address for correspondence: Alexey V. Yablokov, RussianAcademy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, Office 319, 119071Moscow, Russia. Voice: +7-495-952-80-19; fax: +7-495-952-80-19.Yablokov@ecopolicy.ru4. In some heavily contaminated areas of Belarusand Russia there was a markedlyhigher level of cryptosporidium infestation(Lavdovskaya et al., 1996).5. From 1993 to 1997 the hepatitis virusesB, C, D, and G became noticeablyactivated in the heavily contaminatedareas of Belarus (Zhavoronok et al.,1998a,b).6. Herpes viruses were activated in the heavilycontaminated territories of Belarus 6to 7 years after the catastrophe (Matveev,1993; Matveev et al., 1995; Voropaev et al.,1996).7. Activation of cytomegalovirus was foundin the heavily contaminated districts ofGomel and Mogilev provinces, Belarus(Matveev, 1993).8. Prevalence of Pneumocystis was noticeablyhigher in the heavily contaminated territoriesof Bryansk Province (Lavdovskayaet al., 1996).9. The prevalence and severity of Gruby’sdisease (ringworm), caused by the fungusmicrosporia Microsporum sp., was significantlyhigher in the heavily contaminatedareas of Bryansk Province (Rudnitsky et al.,2003).10. The number of saprophytic bacteria inBelarussian sod-podzolic soils is at maximuminareaswithradioactivitylevelsof15 Ci/km 2 or less and minimal in areas281