begin quote from:
An
apparent accident at a Russian facility is suspected of causing a
recent spike in radioactivity in the air over much of Europe, according
to a report by France's …
Russia named as likely source of Europe radioactivity spike
The Associated Press
An apparent accident at a Russian facility is suspected of causing a
recent spike in radioactivity in the air over much of Europe, according
to a report by France's nuclear safety agency.
The Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety says the
release of the isotope Ruthenium-106 posed no health or environmental
risks to European countries. It said the "plausible zone of release" was
between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains, and suggested random
checks on food imports from the region as a precaution.
In a report released Thursday based on monitoring in multiple European
countries, IRSN said the Ruthenium appeared to come from an accident in
late September involving nuclear fuel or the production of radioactive
material. The French agency said the Ruthenium didn't appear to come
from an accident in a nuclear reactor because that would have released
other elements.
Germany's Federal Office for Radiation Protection said last week that
elevated levels of Ruthenium were reported in Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and France since Sept. 29, but posed no threat to public health.
After reports of a Ruthenium-106 leak from a plant in the southern Urals
first appeared, Russia's state-controlled Rosatom corporation said in a
statement last month that it hadn't come from its facilities.
"The claim that the contamination had a Russian origin is unfounded," it said.
The French report says the radioactivity peaked in late September and
early October and affected a "majority of European countries" but is no
longer detected in the atmosphere over Europe. However it said if such
an accident had happened in France, authorities would set up a perimeter
around the accident site to monitor health, safety and food quality.
Ruthenium-106 is used for radiation therapy to treat eye tumors, and sometimes as a source of energy to power satellites.
The French agency also said Ruthenium releases could come from the
re-entry of a satellite into the Earth's atmosphere, but that the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that no satellites powered by Ruthenium re-entered the atmosphere during the time period.
France, which has an extensive nuclear energy industry, has reported a
series of low-level nuclear incidents recently but none involving
Ruthenium or threats to public health.
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