"Researchers studying stray dogs inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the area surrounding the nuclear power plant that partially melted down in 1986, recently made a puzzling discovery: at least three dogs that had mysteriously turned blue. Fortunately, as IFLScience reports, the canines almost certainly weren't suffering side effects of radiation exposure. Instead, according to the researchers, there could be a far more mundane - and perhaps amusing - explanation."
""They appear to have been rolling in a substance that had accumulated on their fur," Dogs of Chernobyl veterinary medical director Jennifer Betz told IFLScience. "We are suspecting that this substance was from an old portable toilet that was in the same location as the dogs; however, we were unable to positively confirm our suspicions." "We are not in any way saying that it is related to radiation in Chernobyl," she added."
"Fortunately, even if the dogs did roll around in or even ingest the blue substance, they likely didn't sustain any harm. "The dogs appear healthy, as do all of the other dogs that we have encountered during our time in Chernobyl," Betz told IFLScience. "I would suspect, as long as they don't lick the majority of the substance off of their fur, it would be mostly harmless.""
At least three stray dogs in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone were found with blue-stained fur. Investigators suspect the dogs rolled in a blue liquid commonly used in portable toilets rather than being affected by radiation. The blue liquid typically contains biocides, dye, detergents, and odor-neutralizing additives and is unlikely to cause lasting harm unless heavily ingested. The dogs appeared healthy during encounters. Dogs of Chernobyl, a nonprofit initiative, monitors and sterilizes offspring of pets in the zone and has sterilized more than 1,000 cats and dogs since 2017 as part of the Clean Futures Fund.
Read at Futurism
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