In the wake of the 1986 accident, cesium-137 spread over much of northern and central Scandinavia. The substance is taken up from the soil by plants and fungi, which in turn are eaten by sheep, reindeer and other grazing animals. It still exists in the earth in the areas affected by the Chernobyl accident, including large parts of Norway and Sweden. The radioactive substance cesium-137 takes many years to break down with an estimated half-life of 30 years. How Chernobyl hit farming in Norway and Sweden One leading researcher says it will take 'decades' for the controls to no longer be necessary.

She said all meat had to be destroyed in the first year following the accident. But even now in 2019, animals in 37 Norwegian municipalities are subject to radiation testing and control before they can be slaughtered. It's scary,' sheep farmer Laila Hoff from Hattfjelldal told Norwegian state broadcaster NRK. The Chernobyl accident shows that our food production is vulnerable. 'Who would have thought that a small northern Norwegian mountain village could be hit by a nuclear accident in Europe.