A Russian city declared a state of emergency today after a mystery radiation leak. High radiation levels were found near a pylon just 1.5 miles away from homes in Khabarovsk, according to reports.
Authorities cordoned off the area on Friday – but the source of the potentially lethal radiation leak is not known and has not been made public.
Andrey Kolchin, the head of civil defence in the city, said: “A source of increased radiation levels was discovered… the area was cordoned.
Mysterious ‘radiation leak’ sparks Russia nationwide state of emergencyhttps://t.co/P9a0udCcRa pic.twitter.com/Q3mfRPH9er
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) April 5, 2024
“It was decided to introduce a state of emergency in Khabarovsk to carry out work faster.”
Authorities said the source of radiation was “removed and placed in a protective container” and taken to a radioactive waste storage facility.
Here’s what we know about the radiation leak:
- Russian news agency TASS said in a report that elevated radiation levels were detected near a power pylon about 2.5 km from residential buildings. It added that source of the radiation has been found.
- The source was “removed and placed in a protective container” and “transported to a radioactive waste storage facility”.
- No one had been injured or exposed to radiation and “there is no threat to the health of citizens”, TASS quoted the local branch of Russia’s consumer safety watchdog as saying.
- Videos from the city have appeared on social media and show a man wearing a nuclear protective mask with a radiation reader, according to Metro. The metre on the device quickly rises as the man walks over a “waste dump”, the outlet further said.
- The man is heard saying on camera that the number on the metre was 20, enough potentially to increase cancer risk, damage DNA, cause foetal damage, and threaten the health of children, the outlet further said.
- Authorities said radiation levels would be monitored for the next two days and the source of the radiation would be investigated.
[aweber listid=”6735895″ formid=”807125532″ formtype=”webform”]