The mystery thickens around the radioactive cloud from Russia. While the latter leaves nothing to filter on what really happened in the southern Urals, at the end of September, conjectures are rife in France, and poison the relationship between the two countries. At the origin of the bone of contention: a high concentration of ruthenium-106, a fission product from the nuclear industry, detected at the end of September in the atmosphere of most European countries. These abnormal rates have been noted by several European networks monitoring the contamination atmospheric radioactive.
“For the period from September 27 to October 13, 2017, only those of the stations of Seyne-sur-Mer, Nice and Ajaccio revealed the presence of ruthenium-106 in the state of traces”, specifies the institute of radioprotection and of nuclear safety (IRSN) in a communicated November 9.
Should we be worried? The Institute rejects the hypothesis of risk to human health : “the concentration levels in the air of ruthenium-106 which have been recorded in Europe and a fortiori in France are of no consequence both for human health and for the environment”.
The origin of the radioactive cloud
This radioactive pollution would come from the south of Russia: “the most plausible discharge zone would be located between the Volga and the Urals without it being possible, with the available data, to specify the exact location of the discharge point” . This location is the result of simulations carried out using meteorological conditions provided by Météo France and measurement results available in European countries. As for the quantity of ruthenium-106 discharge, this is considered “very high” by IRSN, between 100 and 300 terabecquerels.
Detection of #Ruthenium 106 in France and in Europe in late September: Results of IRSN’s investigations and updated information on the plausibility of the origin of the release https://t.co/Y8uzAxPnpUpic.twitter.com/OP14AjwE5L
– IRSN Radioprotection (@radioprotection) November 9, 2017
No more trace of ruthenium-106 in France
So what happened? Among the most plausible scenarios put forward by French experts is that of a nuclear incident which would have occurred at a site for reprocessing used nuclear fuel in southern Russia. A hypothesis swept away by the person concerned. Rosguidromet, the Russian meteorological agency, admitted in recent days that an “extremely high” concentration of ruthenium 106 was detected in several regions of Russia at the end of September. But the Russian authorities deny any breakdown or nuclear incident at their facilities. Despite the Russian silence which maintains the vagueness, remains a reassuring certainty. The episode of radioactive pollution is finished according to IRSN which specifies: “since October 13, 2017, ruthenium-106 is no longer detected in France”.
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