--- ---  # Reindeer Radiation Levels Unusually High This Year  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Oct 7, 2014 12:42 AM UTC  \[UNVERIFIED CONTENT\] Reindeer sled caravan in Tromso in Arctic Norway. \[UNVERIFIED CONTENT\] Reindeer sled caravan in Tromso in Arctic Norway.Getty Images  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Oct 7, 2014 12:42 AM UTC Rudolph’s nose might be glowing just a _little_ bit brighter this year, for all the wrong reasons: [radiation levels in Norwegian reindeer sharply rose this year](http://www.thelocal.no/20141006/radioactive-reindeer-found-in-norway). According to [a Norwegian environmental report](http://www.environment.no/Goals-and-indicators/Goals-and-indicators/Radioactive-pollution/Limit-radiation/Geographical-distribution-of-caesium-137-in-soils-in-Norway-/Caesium-137-in-wild-reindeer-/), scientists in September observed 8,200 becquerel (a unit of measurement for radioactivity) of Celsium-137 per kilo in reindeer, a noticeable jump from 2012, when reindeer in the same area had only 1,500 becquerel of Celsium-137 per kilo. (600 becquerel per kilo is the safe limit for sheep meat.) “This year is extreme,” Lavrans Skuterud, researcher at the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority told Norway’s _The Local_. But Skuterud knows the source of the radiation levels: mushrooms. Specifically, the gypsy mushroom (Cortinarius caperatus), which can absorb a lot of radiation lingering in that part of the globe nearly 30 years after the Chernobyl disaster. “This year, there has been extreme amounts of mushroom,” he said. “In addition, the mushroom season has lasted for a long time. And the mushroom has grown very high up on the mountains.” \[[_The Local_](http://www.thelocal.no/20141006/radioactive-reindeer-found-in-norway)\] Reindeer Radiation Levels Unusually High ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3476496/reindeer-radiation-levels-unusually-high-this-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3476496/reindeer-radiation-levels-unusually-high-this-year/"},"headline":"Reindeer Radiation Levels Unusually High This Year","datePublished":"2014-10-07T00:42:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:37:31.547Z","description":"Blame mushroom season","url":"https://time.com/3476496/reindeer-radiation-levels-unusually-high-this-year/","keywords":["animals","Radiation"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e9254a378a20902/6986a744e8524b89a16051e7/179684682.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e9254a378a20902/6986a744e8524b89a16051e7/179684682.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Reindeer Caravan in Tromso, Norway","caption":"Reindeer Caravan in Tromso, Norway","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3476496/reindeer-radiation-levels-unusually-high-this-year/","name":"Reindeer Radiation Levels Unusually High This Year"}}]}] ```