Russia tells IAEA no incidents on its territory to explain increased nuclear particles

Russia has told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that there were no nuclear incidents on its territory that could explain the increased level of radioactive particles detected by a monitoring station in Sweden. Russia shared the information on its own measurements and results with the UN nuclear watchdog after the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) raised concern over elevated levels of different radioisotopes.

On June 26, Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of CTBTO, said that the international monitoring system in Sweden detected higher-than-usual levels of caesium-134, caesium-137 and ruthenium-103, associated with nuclear fission. He added that the release, most likely from a civil source, was not harmful to human health or environment.

“These isotopes are most likely from a civil source. We are able to indicate the likely region of the source, but it’s outside the CTBTO’s mandate to identify the exact origin,” tweeted Zerbo.

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'No events to cause the release'

IAEA had contacted counterparts in Europe requesting information on whether the higher levels were detected in their countries, and if any event there may have been associated with the atmospheric release. Several countries including Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom reported to the nuclear watchdog that there were no events on their territories that may have caused the release.

“Apart from Estonia, Finland and Sweden, none of the other countries which have so far provided information and data to the IAEA said they had detected elevated radioisotope levels,” said the IAEA in a statement.

Last week, Estonia, Finland and Sweden measured radioisotope concentrations on their territories of a few micro-becquerels (Bq) per cubic meter of air. The nuclear watchdog said that such radioactivity levels reported to the IAEA pose no risk to human health or the environment. The three countries added that there had been no events on their territories that may have caused the observed air concentrations of Ru-103, Cs-134 and Cs-137.

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