What is the level of radiation in Chernobyl now? A message about terrible cosmic radiation

In early November, the Institute for Nuclear and Radiation Safety of France reported a radioactive cloud over Europe, which could have appeared due to an accident at a nuclear facility in Russia or Kazakhstan. The leak, according to experts, occurred a month ago. And by the time the incident was announced, the radiation background had almost disappeared. The authorities of the mentioned countries hastened to refute accidents at nuclear enterprises. Over the next two weeks, the source of the leak was not named, but they tried to explain: there are no health risks in the contaminated regions (Urals, the Volga region, the Rostov region, regions of Germany, France, Italy and Austria).

In Germany, Austria and Italy September 29 recorded an increased radiation background of the isotope ruthenium-106 (Ru-106), which is formed during the testing of nuclear weapons, nuclear man-made accidents.

October 8 German Federal Office for Radiation Protection and Federal Ministry for Protection environment, environmental protection and reactor safety suggested that the source of ruthenium is located at Southern Urals. At the same time, the authorities ruled out an accident.

Rosatom, which oversees the nuclear industry, stated that "in aerosol samples from September 25 to October 7 in the territory of the Russian Federation, including the South Urals, Ru-106 was not found, except for the only measurement point in St. Petersburg" . However, according to Rosatom, even there it was negligible.

In early October, Kommersant reported on the reason for the increase in background radiation, citing Nadezhda Kutepova, a human rights activist from Ozersk, who received political asylum in France.

In a commentary to Novaya Gazeta, Nadezhda Kutepova said that her attention was drawn to the response of Rosatom to reports of a radioactive cloud recorded in Germany.

- I found out that on September 25 and 26 at Mayak ( plant for the production of nuclear weapons components in Ozersk, Chelyabinsk region— Ed.) new equipment was being tested, and also that alarms were announced in Ozersk these days,” Kutepova said, citing sources at the enterprise. - The incident could have occurred at the furnace during the vitrification of high-level radioactive waste. It is there that ruthenium is formed, which can be thrown away in its pure form.

However, representatives of the plant said that they are "all right".

After that, rumors appeared in Yekaterinburg that due to an accident at the Mayak plant, a radioactive cloud was moving towards the city. An anonymous message appeared on the social networks of the city, which was allegedly sent by an employee of a chemical and biological plant (spelling preserved).

“Today, in our scientific chemical and biological plant, the director made an announcement (a friend of a colleague works there). In general, in the Chelyabinsk region, an accident occurred at the Mayak, as a result of a radiation cloud that goes to the Ekb. Orientation will arrive tomorrow. Recommendations - close all windows at home and, if possible, not go outside, also living with alcohol, ginseng root and eleutherococcus (in a pharmacy), for adults, warm red wine or cognac in tea. In general, do not panic, the concentration is not such as to cause radiation sickness. But cancer is very strong.”

In response to this, the local Rospotrebnadzor stated that the level of background radiation on the border of the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions does not exceed the permissible level.

November 9 The Institute for Nuclear and Radiation Safety of France released a report in which he spoke about the appearance of a radioactive cloud over Europe in the last days of September.

According to experts, the accident could have occurred in the last week of September in the area between the Volga and the Urals, south of Ural mountains, but the exact location cannot be determined. The outbreak may be either in Russia or in Kazakhstan.

The report notes that since October 6, the content of hazardous substances has been decreasing, and at the moment they are not in the air.

Map of the distribution of ruthenium from the Institute for Nuclear and Radiation Safety of France

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Why not Kazakhstan

There are plenty of places in Kazakhstan that could be among the "suspected of a leak": the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site alone is worth something. It is closed, but on its territory there is the Institute of Radiation Safety and Ecology - this is the city of Kurchatov in the east of the republic, it falls into the zone marked by the French - inside which there is an operating reactor (another one is in Almaty). But on the day the French researchers spoke, the institute's employees immediately officially announced that they had no leaks - neither from the first nor from the second reactor.

There is also the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Almaty, where pharmaceutical preparations are produced (ruthenium, if only an excess of it was recorded, could “leak” just from the pharmacological production), but the local chiefs brushed aside possible accusations with all hands and feet.

At the same time, the institute has one more object - in the west of Kazakhstan, very close to the Russian border, in the city of Aksai. But the director of the institute, Yergazy Kenzhin, in an interview with Radio Azattyk, said that all the accusations against them are unfounded.

- This is an underground training ground, there are adits at a depth of one and a half kilometers and a kilometer. These are former test sites of the USSR, where there were underground nuclear explosions in the 1980s. It was called "the program for the use of nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes, the creation of cavities for the storage of petroleum products." Everything is mothballed there, that is, some work related to the release [of radiation] has not been there for decades, 30-40 years. Therefore, there is absolutely no release of radioactivity there,” Azattyk quotes the scientist.

In general, Kazakhstan can be suspected of some kind of leaks quite legitimately, since it is quite closely connected with nuclear energy. In the west of Kazakhstan, in the Aktobe region, there is a military town of Emba-5, where, according to some reports, underground nuclear explosions were also carried out. And what is there now in the mines is a big question, since until the middle of this year the Russian military patronized the city (now the process of withdrawing the Russians and the complete transfer of Emba-5 under the Kazakh leadership is underway). In addition, a nuclear waste bank is being built in Kazakhstan, which is said to be safe for the environment.

And in 2014, in the same West of Kazakhstan, a container with radioactive cesium-137 was lost. They searched for him for three days, and a certain taxi driver found him in a neighboring region, who at night saw a small container in a truck passing by. The official version of the loss is the bottom of the body that fell into the van for transportation, and other drivers found it and thought it was just a can - and took it for themselves.

20 November Roshydromet confirmed: at the end of September, extreme air pollution with the radioactive isotope ruthenium-106 was observed in the Urals, high - in Tatarstan, the Volga region and Rostov-on-Don. In samples of radioactive aerosols, the radioisotope Ru-106 was found (half-life 368.2 days).

On the same day, the Russian Greenpeace asked the prosecutor's office to check the Mayak plant. The organization refers to the data of Roshydromet. “The accidental release of ruthenium-106 at the Mayak plant may be associated with the vitrification of spent nuclear fuel. It is also possible for material containing ruthenium-106 to enter the furnace for melting metals, ”Greenpeace said.

Tuesday, November 21st Rosatom stated that Production Association"Mayak" is not associated with air pollution. The department suggested that the leakage of the substance could have occurred due to a violation of the tightness of the fuel element cladding in nuclear reactor or in the radiochemical processing of nuclear fuel.

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Position of Greenpeace and experts

“Roshydromet has published the readings of its stations, but it is not the function of this department to figure out where the emission comes from,” said Rashid Alimov, head of the Greenpeace Russia energy program project. - Therefore, we are writing a request to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation, which, in turn, should involve Rostekhnadzor in order to sort out the situation.

According to Alimov, the purpose of the request is to check whether information about the accident was reported to the competent authorities, whether production was stopped and measures were taken to protect the population.

According to the ecologist, it is now impossible to draw final conclusions about what caused the release.

However, like other experts, Rashid Alimov names the Mayak production association as the first in the list of potential sources of pollution. The state enterprise produces components of nuclear weapons, stores and reprocesses spent nuclear fuel. Located in the closed city of Ozersk, Chelyabinsk Region, the enterprise is part of the state corporation Rosatom.

Versions

According to Rashid Alimov, the conclusions made by French researchers, as well as sources at the Mayak enterprise, indicate that the release could have occurred at the spent nuclear fuel vitrification plant.

The technology is used for the complete elimination of by-product radioactive waste and was invented in France. At high temperature and pressure in the furnace, radioactive liquid and phosphate glass are mixed. Radioactive transparent columns are obtained, which are packed in protective cases. According to Rashid Alimov, in 2001, a ruthenium release was recorded in France at just such a production site.

Loading a container for transporting spent nuclear fuel at the Mayak plant. Photo: Alexander Kondratyuk / RIA Novosti, 2010

Rashid Alimov voices other versions, however, he believes that the likelihood of such a scenario is minimal. “Theoretically, Russia produces ruthenium for medical needs in Dimitrovgrad (in the Ulyanovsk region) and Obninsk (in the Kaluga region), Alimov explains. — This may explain the pollution recorded in Volgograd and Tsimlyansk.

Other scenarios - though less likely - which experts call - a source of ruthenium-106 getting into the smelting furnace along with scrap metal. “The story when the radioactive source got into the furnace was recorded four years ago in Elektrostal,” the expert notes. - And the least likely options are the fall of a satellite and an accident at a nuclear power plant. But this would lead to the release of not only ruthenium-106, but also other radioactive substances.

Why was a radioactive cloud recorded in Europe? Rashid Alimov draws attention to the message of Roshydromet - it follows from it that there are only 22 stations in Russia that could record emissions. “In our opinion, this is not enough,” commented the expert.

According to Rashid Alimov, it is currently not possible to assess the health threat from the release.

“We don’t know where the highest concentrations were recorded, the scenario of how the cloud moved is not completely known,” he notes. “That’s why we contacted the prosecutor’s office.

About the risk of leakage

“The information about the level of pollution that appear in the media is such that there should be no health concerns,” he commented on the situation. Anatoly Gubin, Head of the Laboratory for Mathematical Analysis of Radiation Effects of the Scientific and Technical Center for Radiation and Technical Safety and Hygiene. “However, the very fact of the detection of contamination suggests that there is not enough hope for the installation where spent fuel is handled.

“Those who were in close proximity to the release site could have received serious damage to health,” the physicist commented on the situation. Oleg Bodrov, head of the environmental organization "Southern Coast of the Gulf of Finland". - It is not a fact that they are informed that they were affected by the release, given the fact that we learned about the accident from French scientists, and not from authorized departments in Russia.

What is Europe afraid of?

The French magazine Le NovelObs cites the reasons why - despite the likely lack of consequences for Europe - the current state of emergency is extremely worrisome. Firstly, “having entrusted the report of the incident to the meteorological service” (Roshydromet), Russian nuclear scientists “went into denial” (as they once did after the Chernobyl disaster), and this cannot but excite their European partners. Since Rosatom denies any involvement in the leaks, this can mean one of two things: either the corporation does not control such incidents, or "or the country's authorities hide" the information.

"Either of these circumstances raises concerns," said Bruno Shareiron, director of the non-governmental Commission for the Search for Independent Information on Radioactivity (CRIIRAD), which was set up in France after the Chernobyl disaster.

“It is important that the origin of these releases be searched…From this point of view, the lack of information is worrying. If the origin of the releases is unknown, no radiation protection measures can be taken, while the doses received by workers or local residents could be such that they could not be ignored. When it comes to hiding information, the situation is even more problematic,” Shareiron wrote in a CRIIRAD report published on October 5.

In its latest communiqué, released on November 21, CRIIRAD analyzes the release report from Roshydromet.

“And without giving close answers (to emerging questions), the results (published by Roshydromet) raise new questions:

1. Why is the concentration of a substance in the air (on the territory of Russia) at the same level as was found in Romania
2. Why does the level of ruthenium-106 release into the soil, noted by stations located less than 40 km north and south of Mayak, reach a maximum of 330 Bq / m2 (this level was recorded in Metlino) - after all, this is from 100 to 1000 times less than as noted in the IRSN simulations (results released November 9).”

“Today, we are still in complete obscurity,” reports the Commission for the search for independent information on radioactivity.

The Commission also emphasizes that it has already applied to the World Health Organization and the International Agency for atomic energy with the demand to “break the silence and intervene”, since “absolute transparency is necessary” in the investigation of the emergency - “both on the part of the authorities, in particular the Russian Federation, and on the part of expert institutions.”

It happened before

Mayak accidents in 1957 and 2007

In 1957, the “Kyshtym accident” occurred at Mayak, which caused radiation pollution over an area of ​​over 20 thousand square kilometers. It became the first man-made radiation emergency in the USSR: during the liquidation, 23 villages with a population of up to 12 thousand people were resettled, their houses, property and livestock were destroyed.

Ten years ago, in 2007, another emergency happened at Mayak. At plant No. 235, where spent nuclear fuel is reprocessed, a pipeline burst occurred. Up to 8 people received the maximum permissible doses of radiation. However, as the Ural media indicate, the company hid this information for more than a month.

The village of Muslyumovo affected by radiation as a result of the "Kyshtym accident". Photo: Alexander Kondratyuk / RIA Novosti, 2010

It is interesting that at that time information about the causes of the release was published by the same Nadezhda Kutepova, at that time the head of the Planet of Hopes organization. She was born in Ozersk, her father was the liquidator of the accident in 1957. In 2015, Kutepova’s Planet of Hope organization was recognized as a foreign agent, she was accused of industrial espionage, and Kutepova received political asylum abroad.

Chernobyl: the USSR confessed under pressure from Europe

The largest nuclear accident occurred at Chernobyl on April 26, 1986. The first reports of the accident in the Soviet media appeared only on April 28, and they were made under pressure, when worried Europeans demanded that the USSR explain the increase in background radiation. Experts from the Swedish nuclear power plant Forsmak were the first in the world to report pollution. Soviet publications publish detailed information about the accident after the May holidays.

Worked on the material: Alisa Kustikova, Alexandra Kopacheva, Vyacheslav Polovinko, Yuri Safronov

At the end of September, a strong release of the radioactive isotope of ruthenium Ru-106 was recorded in the Chelyabinsk region, Roshydromet reports. The report states that from September 25 to October 1, excess radioactivity was recorded at all observation posts in the South Urals. At the same time, in some places, pollution was classified as "extremely high". In the area of ​​the village of Argayash, the background radiation was exceeded by 986 times, and in the village of Novogorny - by 440 times. Both settlements are located near the Rosatom enterprise PO Mayak, which is engaged in the production of nuclear weapons components and the storage of spent nuclear fuel.

Mayak's press service has already issued a statement stating that the company has nothing to do with air pollution with ruthenium.

“In 2017, ruthenium-106 sources were not produced at FSUE PA Mayak, emissions into the atmosphere were within the usual regulatory values. Radiation background is normal. In addition, we inform you that work on the separation of ruthenium-106 from spent nuclear fuel (and the manufacture of sources of ionizing radiation on its basis) has not been carried out at our enterprise for many years," the report says.

"Atmospheric pollution with the ruthenium-106 isotope, indicated in the report of Roshydromet, is not related to the activities of the FSUE PA Mayak," the press service emphasized.

RIA News"

The authorities of the Chelyabinsk region stated that no one informed them about the powerful jump in radiation at the end of September. The Minister of Public Security of the region, Yevgeny Savchenko, concluded from this that there is no danger in ruthenium emissions.

“If there is a high level of danger, Roshydromet does not wait for anything, but informs the authorities to take measures to protect the population, including evacuation,” he said [Savchenko].

“When there was a wave in the press about ruthenium, we requested information from Rosatom and Roshydrometcenter [Roshydromet]. There were only hesitation, but since there was no danger, they did not consider it necessary to warn us ... The sources of information stuffing were located in France, where there is a competing our "Mayak" is a nuclear waste processing plant. It leads to certain thoughts, ”the official said.

URA.ru

Mass media wrote about the strong pollution of the atmosphere with ruthenium at the end of September. Immediately after the release, due to weather conditions, the radioactive cloud quickly moved to the Mediterranean region and then to the north of Europe. The German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) recorded elevated levels of ruthenium in the air between 29 September and 3 November. Also, a non-hazardous increase in the radiation background was recorded in France. As a probable cause of BfS pollution, one of the enterprises in the South Urals indicated. But the authorities of the Chelyabinsk region and Rosatom denied this assumption. In particular, the communications department of Rosatom issued a statement saying that Roshydromet did not record an increase in the radiation background in the area of ​​the Ural enterprises and that the source of pollution should be sought in Europe.

Now Greenpeace is preparing a statement to the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation with a demand to conduct a thorough investigation and publish all materials related to recent incidents at Mayak and other enterprises that could have caused the release of ruthenium. Greenpeace radiation specialist Rashid Aliyev said that it is no longer possible to protect people from radiation in the release zone, because all the danger was in September. It will be possible to draw a conclusion about the consequences of the release on the health of the inhabitants of the Chelyabinsk region not earlier than in six months.

In the environmental ratings of Russian regions, the Chelyabinsk region invariably occupies the last position. The most acute problem is air pollution, the source of which is industrial enterprises. In early November, residents of Chelyabinsk complained about a thick fog with a chemical smell that enveloped the city. Many concluded that it was smog, which was formed due to emissions. At the same time, people noted that during the visit of President Vladimir Putin, the air in the city became much cleaner, and after his departure, the situation worsened again.

November 21, 13:19 Andrey Cheremisinov, Director of the Rosatom Communications Department, commented on the recent release and Greenpeace's appeal to the prosecutor's office. According to him, the corporation has nothing to hide and is ready to cooperate in the investigation. He also clarifies that hundreds of times the excess of background radiation was calculated relative to the readings of the previous month, and not relative to the maximum permissible value.

"Of course, we are ready. We are open. We have nothing to hide. Everything is in order. Greenpeace is doing its job, doing what it is doing right. We are ready to reassure everyone.<...>

The phrase "extremely high pollution" says that they are compared with the previous month. This suggests that they have very accurate instruments. The figures themselves, when compared with the maximum allowable concentrations, are about a thousand times lower than the maximum allowable.<...>

There were no incidents related to the release of radioactivity at our enterprises. Since this data first appeared about a month ago, we had already conducted an internal investigation, an internal audit. We're all right. As for the fact that Roshydromet has now made this public, as far as I understand, we contacted them, found out that their website is updated once a month. This is data from a month ago, when it was all over Europe. It is worth noting that in Europe the numbers are higher. In particular, in Romania the level is higher than in our country. Thus, where it comes from, we cannot yet understand ourselves. There are a whole lot of versions. For now, we can only speak for ourselves. We're all right".

Andrey Cheremisinov in an interview with the radio station "Moscow Speaks"

November 21, 14:09 A source familiar with the situation, who wished to remain anonymous, told Varlamov.ru that the meteorological stations controlled by Roshydromet did not immediately notice the release of the radioactive isotope of ruthenium, because the measurements were taken incorrectly. According to him, when it became clear to them what actually happened, "officials have already given the answer that there are no problems with ruthenium in Russia."

"When information came from European countries about the release of the radioactive isotope of ruthenium (Ru-106), we did not have any excesses. The method for measuring ruthenium is not simple, so measurements were carried out, if I'm not mistaken, once every five days, this is done by the regional department for hydrometeorology and environmental monitoring (UGMS).At the same time, when Roshydromet began to look at how the measurements were carried out, it became clear that they were not carried out completely correctly.After that, they collected fresh information from all meteorological posts and formed a plate from which it is clearly seen that significant The excess is shown by the posts around the Mayak Production Association.This table is more than a month old, for some reason only now information on it has gone to the media.

By the time the table was made, all officials had already given an answer that there were no problems with ruthenium in Russia, therefore, as I understand it, they decided not to change horses at the crossing and not issue rebuttals.

It should be understood that these excesses in ruthenium do not affect health at all, so the topic is more of scientific and political interest, and also indicates flaws in communication with European partners."

November 22, 15:55 Rostekhnadzor reported that from October 26 to November 3, it conducted an inspection at Mayak and found that there were no violations in terms of radiation levels and control measurements.

"During the inspection, it was found that during August-October 2017, on the territory of Mayak, its sanitary protection zone and the observation zone, the specific activity of radionuclides in the surface air, including the specific activity of the ruthenium-106 isotope, did not exceed the permissible and control levels established for the enterprise. No violations related to the conduct of radiation monitoring of sources of releases of radioactive substances, as well as the operation of equipment and the conduct of technological processes that could cause the release of the isotope ruthenium-106 into the atmosphere, were not revealed by the audit, "says in message.

I am now preparing a large cycle of photo reports from Chernobyl, and I decided to make a publication about the current levels of radiation in the Chernobyl zone as the first post - perhaps this is the first thing they ask those who have returned from there, personally 20 people have already written to me with a question about radiation)

To begin with, a short introduction about how and with what the Chernobyl zone was polluted. On the night of April 26, 1986, a strong explosion occurred at the Fourth Unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, as a result of which the reactor core and the reactor hall were destroyed, as a result of which a huge amount (tens of tons) of radioactive substances were released into the atmosphere. The main radioactive "dirt" that fell on the adjacent territories is such fission products of uranium as cesium-137 and strontium-90, as well as plutonium, americium and other transuranium elements.

After the fallout of radioactive substances, two pollution perimeters formed around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant - the so-called Thirty-kilometer and Ten-kilometer exclusion zones, in the language of ChEZ workers, simply referred to as "Thirty" and "Ten". In the "Thirty" is the city of Chernobyl itself, as well as several adjacent villages. The radioactive level "in the air" here is practically normal, but it is still impossible to live in this territory, since there is a deep contamination of soils and all plants that grow in this territory with radionuclides.

"Ten" - much more dirty. Inside this perimeter is the Chernobyl station itself, the Red Forest, the antennas of the Chernobyl-2 facility and the city of Pripyat. There are also radioactive burial grounds with buried equipment, clothes and equipment of the liquidators. Relatively clean are roads (but not roadsides) that have been resurfaced several times since 1986.

Under the cut - a continuation and a story about radiation levels.

02. Here is a map posted in the area of ​​the Dityatki checkpoint, which is located at the entrance to the Thirty-Kilometer Exclusion Zone. For the internal convenience of the employees of ChEZ "Thirty" is divided into two parts - Zone-II and Zone-III. In Zone-II there are various abandoned villages and various planned works are being carried out. Zone-III includes the city of Chernobyl and enterprises operating on the territory of the ChEZ - canteens, shops, and so on.

Zone number I is the same "Ten" in which all radiation-hazardous objects are located and the most dangerous work is carried out.

03. "Thirty" and "Ten" each have their own checkpoint with dosimetric frames - at the exit from each zone you go through radiation control for the presence of radioactive contamination on your clothes. It happens that the frames work, then the dosimetrists will try to clean the clothes, and if this does not work out, then the clothes (or shoes) will have to be left at the checkpoint.

04. In the city of Chernobyl, the radioactive background practically does not differ from Minsk, Moscow or Kyiv - when measured "by air" it is about 12-15 microroentgen per hour. This is not the first time I have come to Chernobyl, and I have never been able to measure anything above 15-17 microroentgens here. There are no ordinary residents in the city of Chernobyl now, but employees of the Exclusion Zone live - they are involved in various planned works to clean up the territory, build a new sarcophagus, and so on. Currently, the IAEA regulations allow living in the Chernobyl city on a rotational basis - about 2-3 months within six months.

05. We are approaching the Chernobyl nuclear power plant itself, near the unfinished Fifth and Sixth power units there is an abandoned fish farm. This body of water is directly connected to the Chernobyl cooling pond:

06. Radiation levels here are already noticeably above the norm, the counters show a background of about 50-60 mcr / hour. It is considered safe to be in such a radiation field for several hours, but, of course, it is impossible to live in such a territory for years.

07. The most "dirty" place at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is the observation deck near the Fourth power unit, it is a small area with parking, where tourists are often brought up. The radiation background at the viewing Chernobyl NPP is about 400-500 mkr / hour, if the wind blows from the side of the sarcophagus, it can rise to 600-700.

But this is the entrance to the dining room building on the territory of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant itself - tourists are usually not taken there.

07. Radiation measurements inside the building - everything is normal. By the way, everyone who comes to the dining room also passes through the dosimetric control frame, as at a checkpoint. The frame is needed in order to prevent any radionuclides from entering the premises where food is located.

08. Lunch at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant) Of course, the radioactive background is normal - since absolutely all products are imported here, no economic activity is carried out on the territory of the ChEZ. In general, I’ll make a separate big report about the dining room, so don’t miss it)

09. We go by car to western part the perimeter of the Zone, towards the abandoned city of Polesskoye. There are rather "dirty" sections on this route, where the radiation background jumps to 150-200 mcr / hour - this is because the so-called "Western trail" passed through this territory - when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant burned, the wind blew in this direction and then the rain fell.

10. We compare the readings of two dosimeters. Mine with a mica sensor reacts a little faster than the gas-discharge "Terra-P", and therefore slightly higher numbers on its screen. Looking ahead, I will say that we did not manage to measure anything more than short-term jumps in the dosimeter readings up to 150-200 microroentgens per hour.

11. Abandoned economic complex in the abandoned city of Polesskoe with moss sprouting through the asphalt, let's take measurements here - moss very often accumulates radiation, "getting" it from the soil.

12. Everything is clean, the dosimeter readings do not exceed the background indicators in Kyiv or Minsk.

13. Measurement of the background in the hostel building in Polessky - the background is also normal.

As you can see, the radiation levels in the modern Chernobyl zone are not that high and are practically safe for a one-day visit to these areas. During a flight in an ordinary aircraft at an altitude of 8-10 thousand meters, a person stays in much higher radioactive fields (500-800 mcr/hour) for several hours.

Why did this happen, where did the radiation "disappear", and why, in this case, is it now forbidden to live in the Chernobyl zone? Background indicators fell for several reasons - firstly, the main background in 1986 was created by short-lived isotopes like radioactive iodine, from which by 2017 there was no trace left. For comparison, you can imagine that on April 26, the background in the city of Pripyat was 1 r / h (or 1,000,000 mkr / h), which required an urgent evacuation of the city, now the background there does not exceed 100-200 mkr / hour. The second reason for the fall of the background is the decontamination work of the liquidators, who washed the houses and laid new road surfaces.

At the same time, of course, it is impossible to live permanently in the Chernobyl zone - there is extremely strong contamination of soil and water with radionuclides, which is safe during a tourist visit, but is absolutely incompatible with permanent residence there. In addition, there are still extremely radioactive spots (of various sizes) on the territory of the ChEZ, which is also very dangerous for permanent life in this territory.

So it goes. If you have any questions about Chernobyl - write in the comments)

Roshydromet recorded an extreme jump in radiation levels in the South Urals. In the area of ​​the Argayash village, the radioactive background was exceeded 986 times, and in Novgorodny - 440 times. Both settlements are located near the Mayak nuclear waste storage and processing facility. They deny their involvement in the release of ruthenium, and the regional authorities have already sent inquiries to Rosatom and Roshydromet. What threatens the extreme jump in radiation in the Southern Urals - in the material "360".

An extreme jump in radiation levels has been recorded in the Southern Urals, Roshydromet reported. Such indicators were received in the period from September 25 to October 1 by all posts located in the region. In the area of ​​the Argayash village, the radioactive background was exceeded 986 times, and in Novgorodny - 440 times. The radioisotope Ru-106 was detected at both observation points. Almost during the same period, its decay products were detected in Tatarstan, Volgograd and Rostov-on-Don.

The villages of Argayash and Novgorodny are located near the Mayak plant, an enterprise for the storage and processing of nuclear waste, the department noted.

From September 29 to October 3, Ru-106 was recorded in all European countries. During this period of time, conditions arose in the Southern Urals for "active eastern transport of air masses," Roshydromet said. Therefore, pollutants could move to southern Siberia and the Mediterranean, and then to the north of Europe.

The authorities of the Chelyabinsk region do not see any danger in exceeding the level of radioactive background. “If a high level of danger arises, Roshydromet does not wait for anything, but informs the authorities to take measures to protect the population, including evacuation,” said the Minister of Security of the region, Yevgeny Savchenko, to URA.ru. According to him, relevant requests have already been sent to Rosatom and Roshydromet.

Who is guilty?

It is already too late for the inhabitants of the Urals to take measures to protect themselves from radiation, according to Greenpeace Russia. The main threat to the population of the region passed in September, when ruthenium was released, Rashid Aliyev, a radiation specialist at the environmental organization, told Znak.com. According to him, the consequences of a jump in radiation for human health will be known only in six months. At the same time, Greenpeace intends to apply to the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia. The organization's statement will contain a requirement that Rosatom conduct an inspection of enterprises with a possible release of ruthenium.

Mayak denies any involvement in increasing the level of radiation in the region. In 2017, the plant did not produce any sources of ruthenium, the press service of the plant said. In addition, work on the separation of Ru-106 at Mayak "has not been carried out for many years," the report emphasizes. Data on the excess of the radioactive background do not pose a danger to human health.

The appearance of ruthenium in the atmosphere can occur with a failure in a nuclear reactor or radiochemical processing of fuel. However, in this case, a lot of fragmentary radionuclides should have appeared in the air. It is impossible not to notice them, the Mayak report says. Identification of Ru-106 in the region could occur due to the use or disposal of sources of special ionizing radiation. The company also denies this option.

Rosatom said that there were no accidents at nuclear facilities in Russia, RIA Novosti reports.

“The only thing that can be done is to evacuate the population”

For the environment, the release of ruthenium is not critical, environmentalist Askhat Kayumov told 360. At the same time, for people, such a level of radioactive background can result in an increase in cancer and mortality. “Exceeding the radioactive background hundreds of times is a guaranteed growth of oncological formations. We can confidently guarantee that their number will increase in these settlements,” Kayumov said. In the current situation, it is necessary to introduce a system for diagnosing oncology at an early stage.

It is necessary to understand where exactly this level of radiation came from. If we do not understand, then no one guarantees that in six months it will not get even worse. You need to understand the source. But first of all, you need to take care of people.

- Askhat Kayumov.

The radioactive background is one of the scientifically proven carcinogens, oncologist Andrey Pylev told 360. Elevated levels of radiation can provoke a number of diseases - in particular, a tumor of the thyroid gland. In addition, there is a great threat of remission of chronic diseases and a general weakening of the immune system. “Prevention in this case is impossible. The only thing that can be done in the first place is to evacuate the population,” Pylev said.

An increase in radiation levels can cause both radiation sickness and a number of other diseases, oncologist Vladimir Krugly told 360. The critical level of radioactive background, regardless of the source of its occurrence, is dangerous to humans. “It is necessary to take measures to evict and protect the population,” said Krugly. In order to prevent a catastrophe, it is necessary to take measures to eliminate the source of hazardous emissions.

The first measure is to evacuate the children. Because the situation can be like in Chernobyl - at first it is hushed up, and then it can “emerge”. This situation needs to be taken very seriously.<…>When there was the Chernobyl accident, thyroid diseases were common there. But increased radiation, in principle, provokes the rise of all cancers.

Vladimir Krugly.

Recall that for the first time about the radiation release in Russia they started talking in Europe back in September, when the infected clouds reached the EU countries. However, the Russian authorities indignantly rejected any "suspicions" and advised the Europeans not to engage in provocations.

For almost three months, the KGB regime carefully concealed the fact of a powerful radiation release in the Chelyabinsk region. And he still hides the reason for what happened - whether it was a nuclear explosion, an accident at the local Mayak enterprise, or Russian nuclear facilities began to spontaneously collapse from dilapidation.

According to the latest data, in the area of ​​the village of Argayash, the radiation background is exceeded by 986 times. Hundreds of times in the Chelyabinsk region. However, the local Chekist authorities brazenly announced that the almost thousand-fold excess of radiation poisoning of vast territories "is not at all dangerous and there is no need to panic."

Extremely high contamination of the environment with the radioactive isotope of ruthenium Ru-106 was recorded in the Chelyabinsk region in September-October.

The Vyazma River and the Argazinskoe reservoir are infected. In the village of Novogorny, the level of radiation increased 440 times. Fallout of radioactive fallout was noted throughout the Southern Urals.

When Europe began to sound the alarm and warn of the radiation hazard, Rosatom brazenly "recognized" the release of ruthenium, "but not from a Russian source."

"The radiation situation around all objects of the nuclear industry Russian Federation within the normal range and corresponds to the natural radiation background, - said in a purely Russian style "Rosatom" in October through the "Rossiyskaya Gazeta".

Recall that the Mayak enterprise, where, apparently, a huge release of radiation occurred (the Chekists still hide the reason), is engaged in the storage of nuclear waste and the production of components for nuclear weapons.

After it became clear that it was impossible to hide the fact of a nuclear release, the Chekists launched an information cover operation. Through the Greenpeace organization, a version was thrown in that the source of contamination might have been nuclear waste brought for processing. “The accidental release of ruthenium-106 at the Mayak plant may be associated with the vitrification of spent nuclear fuel,” environmental security officers said. “It is also possible for material containing ruthenium-106 to enter the metal melting furnace.”

At Mayak, where before that they categorically rejected any report about the very fact of a radiation release, they promptly agreed with the following probability: “The wind rose goes just from the industrial zone of the enterprise towards Argayash, so the news is not very positive,” the Mayak management pointedly complained ".

Two more KGB versions were voiced by the Russian Institute of Industrial Ecology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences: “a satellite that fell from orbit or medical institution».

They explained in a scientific way that - quote: “Synthesized in its pure form, Ru-106 is used in particle accelerators, radiotherapy of eye tumors and serves as an energy source for spacecraft. According to experts from the Institute of Industrial Ecology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, when radioactive waste intended for processing is released, other radionuclides should be detected along with Ru-106. A more likely source of radioactive contamination could be a medical facility or a fallen satellite.”

Meanwhile, experts warn that the consequences of the impact on the health of Russians will appear in six months. They will start dying en masse from cancer. In the reports of some Russian media, this is written softer, they say, "a massive surge in oncological diseases is expected."

“Summarizing the release of radioactive ruthenium-106, everything is as usual:

- It's not us

- We, but not on purpose

Special, but not much

Strong but not harmful

- Harmful, but not for long

“Why is it possible in 1986 and not in 2017?…”