Tuesday, March 26, 1996

   ZHYTOMYR, Ukraine (AP) -- The Chernobyl nuclear accident proved a
golden opportunity for biologist Vyacheslav Konovalov, a longtime
observer of genetic mutations caused by modern life.
   Ten years after the devastating explosion, he sits in a musty
laboratory overflowing with bottled piglets, dried deformed human
fetuses and diseased daisies.  And he wishes his subject matter
weren't quite so plentiful.
   While such genetic abnormalities have occurred since the dawn of
time, the increasing number of them in Konovalov's and other Ukrainian
laboratories since 1986 is a reminder of the lasting legacy of the
Chernobyl accident.
   "We're all victims of civilization.  These are just the ones who
suffered most," said the 61-year-old professor, pointing at his
curious collection.
   Konovalov has been collecting deformities caused by technological
development since the 1960s, when he began studying plant life outside
factories.
   After the April 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant --
the world's worst nuclear accident -- he left his native Kiev for
Zhytomyr, one of the areas most heavily irradiated by the fallout.
   Since then, he says he has found dozens of new bacteria and viruses
and new forms of diseases.  He has seen a rise in the rate of multiple
birth defects and pathological disorders in human fetuses.
   While such increases are sporadic, they do not seem to be abating
with time, he said.
   "Of course it's professionally interesting.  But it's only useful
if we learn from our mistakes," he said.
   Konovalov hopes to create a children's museum with his exhibits.
   Other scientists and officials are quick to point out that
Konovalov's refrigerator full of bottled and dried mutations is only
part of the story.
   Opinions on the accident's effects vary wildly, and official,
comprehensive statistics are virtually non-existent.
   Those figures that are available are hardly encouraging.
   Ukraine's Health Ministry says up to 125,000 people in Ukraine
alone have died from diseases related to the accident.  Neighboring
Russia and Belarus were also heavily hit by the radiation.
   Cases of thyroid cancer among children, a common measure of the
health impact of radiation exposure, have increased up to 100 times in
the affected area, according to the World Health Organization.
   Meanwhile, the 18-mile restricted zone around the nuclear plant has
turned into a unique ecosystem.
   All permanent residents were evacuated after the blast, leaving
only wildlife.  While the fallout has taken its toll on many plants
and animals, scientists have discovered that the absence of humans has
allowed other species to develop.
   Back in Konovalov's lab stands a display covered in dead Colorado
beetles.  He and his students have charted the occurrence of black
beetles on one square meter of land in the Chernobyl zone since 1988.
The melatonin in the darker beetles protects the bug from radiation.
   By last year, the rate of black beetles had jumped from less than
10 percent to about 40 percent.
   "Protective evolution," Konovalov said.
   On a top shelf, he still has a stuffed eight-legged colt, dubbed
"Gorbachev's colt" after Konovalov brought a life-size photo of it to
the Supreme Soviet in 1988 to show then-Soviet president Mikhail
Gorbachev what Chernobyl was doing to the country's wildlife.
   No one can prove that the Chernobyl blast directly caused a chick
born after the blast to die because it couldn't support its four extra
wings.
   "But we can't ignore them either," said Vladimir Usatenko, the head
of parliament's committee on Chernobyl.  "These mutants are on our
collective conscience."