Russia says radiation leak detected over Scandinavia did not come from its power plant

Russia’s nuclear energy body reportedly said that the leak of nuclear material detected over Scandinavia did not come from one of its power plants. The statement from Russia comes after a Dutch public health body said that the material came from the ‘direction of western Russia’. While saying that the material could indicate ‘damage to a fuel element’, nuclear safety watchdog in Finland, Norway and Sweden also reportedly said that they had found higher-than-usual amounts of radioactive isotopes in the atmosphere. 

However, while speaking to a media outlet, a spokesperson for the state-controlled nuclear power operator Rosenergoatom said that Russia’s two power station in the north-west, the Leningrad NPP and the Kola NPP, were working normally. The spokesperson added that no leaks or complaints about the equipment’s work had been reported. He further said that the aggregated emissions of all specified isotopes in the above-mentioned period did not exceed the reference number. 

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In reference to the particles detected, Lassina Zerbo, who is the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), also took to Twitter to inform that the country’s Stockholm monitoring station had detected three isotopes at higher than usual level, however, he said that they are not harmful to human health. 

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Investigation underway

Meanwhile, the Dutch National Institute for Public health and the Environment in the Netherlands reportedly said that the composition of the nuclear material may indicate damage to a fuel element in a nuclear power plant. As per reports, The International Atomic Energy Agency also said that they were aware of the reports and was also seeking more information from member states. 

(Image: @headius) 

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