Traditional farming and grazing areas in Norway were heavily affected by the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident in 1986. The first autumn after the accident, 320.000 sheep in 117 of Norway’s municipalities had to be taken down from traditional grazing areas and fed alternative foodstuffs before they were sent to slaughter, because their meat could contain levels of radiation that were too high.
In 2012 sheep in only 18 municipalities had to be “foddered down” and the number this year can be even lower, the National Radiation Authorities say. The process involves feeding the animals a controlled cesium-free diet six weeks prior to slaughtering.
The night to April 26 1986 one of the four reactors at the nuclear power plant in Chernobly exploded, leaving a 3100 km² in the Former Soviet Union heavily polluted by radioactive substances, including radioactive iodine and cesium. Some 135.000 people were evacuated and restrictions on food production were implemented in a 7200 km² large area that had a pollution of cesium-137 of more than 600 kBq/m².
Norway was the area in Europe outside the Soviet Union that was most heavily affected by radioactive pollution. This was a result of wind and rain situation in the time of the accident and the following days. The most affected areas were Nordland, Trøndelag, Hedmark, Oppland and Buskerud.
The consequences of the radioactive pollution in Norway were large because fields are used as grazing areas for sheep and cattle. In addition people use nature for hunting, fishing and gathering. Foodstuffs like mutton, reindeer meat, goat milk, mushroom and freshwater fish were most affected by radioactive pollution.
