<P> Within the highly contaminated areas--Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, there were around 5000 cases of thyroid cancer that have been diagnosed since the accident . These cases were found in individuals who were aged 18 and younger during the time of the accident . </P> <P> The Chernobyl Tissue Bank (CTB) was created in 1998, 6 years after research was published showing a rise in childhood thyroid cancer . Supported by the Russian Federation and Ukraine, The European Commission, the National Cancer Institute of the USA, and the Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation, the project is the first international co-operation that collects biological samples from patients who were exposed to radioiodine during childhood . The project started collecting a variety of biological samples from patients on October 1, 1998 and since July 2001, has been a source for ethically available tissue samples - specifically extracted nucleic acids and tissue sections, for 21 research projects in Japan, Europe and the USA . The CTB serves as a model for tissue banking for cancer research in the molecular age . </P> <P> Twenty - five years after the incident, restriction orders had remained in place in the production, transportation and consumption of food contaminated by Chernobyl fallout . In the UK, only in 2012 the mandatory radioactivity testing of sheep in contaminated parts of the UK that graze on lands was lifted . They covered 369 farms on 750 km and 200,000 sheep . In parts of Sweden and Finland, restrictions are in place on stock animals, including reindeer, in natural and near - natural environments . "In certain regions of Germany, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania and Poland, wild game (including boar and deer), wild mushrooms, berries and carnivorous fish from lakes reach levels of several thousand Bq per kg of caesium - 137", while "in Germany, caesium - 137 levels in wild boar muscle reached 40,000 Bq / kg . The average level is 6,800 Bq / kg, more than ten times the EU limit of 600 Bq / kg", according to the TORCH 2006 report . The European Commission has stated that "The restrictions on certain foodstuffs from certain Member States must therefore continue to be maintained for many years to come". </P> <P> As of 2009, sheep farmed in some areas of the UK are still subject to inspection which may lead to them being prohibited from entering the human food chain because of contamination arising from the accident: </P>

Chernobyl disaster how did it affect the environment