Finland, Sweden and Norway have reported unusual, but low, levels of radioactivity in recent days. A rise harmless for the man who, according to a Dutch institute, would find its source in western Russia, while a French NGO has dismissed a track leading to Latvia.
Lassina Zerbo, secretary general of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), whose stations also measure increases in civilian radioactivity, posted a map on Twitter showing the probable source area of the source, according to its measurements
22 /23 June 2020, RN #IMS station SEP63 #Sweden???????? detected 3isotopes; Cs-134, Cs-137 & Ru-103 associated w/Nuclear… https://t.co/0Yyl2bJ1Ao
The sector covers roughly the southern third of Sweden, the southern half of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, as well as a large area surrounding the northwestern border of Russia, including St. Petersburg.
These isotopes (cesium 137, cesium 134 and ruthenium 103, in particular) “Are most likely of civil origin. We are able to indicate the probable region of the source, but this is not part of the CTBTO’s mandate. to determine the exact origin “, commented Lassina Zerbo.
Precise origin not identified
Russian nuclear power producer Rosenergoatom has denied any incident in the two power plants it operates in this sector. “No anomalies were recorded in the Leningradskaya and Kolskaya nuclear power plants”, a spokesperson told the Russian agencies. Shows “Have not exceeded the control values for the period indicated” and “There have been no incidents related to the release of radionuclides above established levels”, he continued.
According to calculations by the Dutch Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), “The radionuclides come from the direction of western Russia”, even if the measurements do not allow a more precise location to be identified.
The nuclides identified are very artificial, therefore of human origin. And their composition “May indicate damage to a fuel element in a nuclear power plant”, noted the Dutch authority in a press release.
In addition to Russia, Finland and Sweden operate nuclear reactors in the area, but no incidents have been reported. The Baltic States do not have an active reactor, Lithuania having closed its only nuclear power plant of Soviet origin as part of its entry into the European Union.
Problems reported in Latvia
On the other hand, radioactivity problems have been reported in recent years in conventional power plants in Latvia. These used wood from certain regions of Belarus, especially around Gomel and Mogilev, in the east of the country, which had been particularly contaminated by the fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster (Ukraine).
The operator of the heating and electricity network of the Latvian capital, Riga, apologized in 2018 for using wood containing radioactive elements. And the company, Rigas Siltums, announced on June 17 in a press release that it had launched a research project “On the control of the radioactivity of wood and ash” of its plants.
But according to Criirad, an anti-nuclear NGO specializing in the control of radioactivity, certain isotopes detected allow this track to be avoided. “The detection in Helsinki of short-lived radioactive elements, cesium 134 (two-year period) and especially ruthenium 103 (thirty-nine day period), makes it possible to exclude that it is only the burning of biomass contaminated by Chernobyl fallout in 1986 “, Bruno Chareyron, nuclear physics engineer and director of the Criirad laboratory in Valence, explained to Agence France-Presse.
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