Russia finds 1,000-times normal level of radioactive isotope after nuclear incident claims

[techbeck]

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s meteorological service said on Tuesday it had measured pollution of a radioactive isotope at nearly 1,000 times normal levels in the Ural mountains, the first official Russian data supporting reports that a nuclear incident had taken place.

 

The data appears to back up a report by the French nuclear safety institute IRSN, which said on Nov. 9 a cloud of radioactive pollution over Europe had indicated some kind of leak had taken place at a nuclear facility either in Russia or Kazakhstan in the last week of September.

 

Neither Russia nor Kazakhstan has acknowledged any accident.

 

Russian state weather service Roshydromet said in a statement it had found “extremely high pollution” of ruthenium 106 in samples from two meteorological stations in the southern Urals region in late September and early October.

 

At the Agrayash weather station the levels were 986 times those of the previous month, while at the Novogorny station they were 440 times higher. The weather service did not rule out that the radioactive isotope could be absorbed into the atmosphere and reach Europe.

 

Western scientists said the ruthenium 106 levels disclosed did not by themselves indicate any major health threat, although it was still unclear what had happened.

 

More....

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-nuclearpower-accident/russia-finds-1000-times-normal-level-of-radioactive-isotope-after-nuclear-incident-claims-idUSKBN1DL0X2

[DocM]

The French nuclear safety institute (IRSN) has reported 100-300 TBq ( terabecquerels) of Ruthenium-106 was released. BOTE, 300 TBq would be ~2.5 grams.