Media: Russia has kept silent about the radioactive disaster
According to the German publication Frankfurter Rundschau, in Germany, representatives of the Green Party are demanding a response from the Ministry of the Environment regarding an investigation into a major leak of a radioactive substance allegedly occurred last year in Russia, in the Southern Urals. This incident was studied by representatives of several European countries. The initiator and main driving force of the investigation was the German government.
Mysterious cloud
In the fall of 2017, a cloud was discovered in the atmosphere with an increased concentration of radioactive ruthenium-106. It moved through the whole of Europe and covered Germany, Austria and Italy. Background changes were observed in other countries. Despite the fact that the radioactive layer had a large area, its concentration was low and did not exceed the maximum permissible concentrations. The total amount of radioactive substance contained in the cloud was approximately 1 to 4 grams.
In other words, this atmospheric phenomenon does not pose a direct danger to the life and health of European residents. Despite this, the German "greens" believe that an accident occurred in Russia a year ago, which in terms of scale is in third place after Chernobyl and Fukushima.
The release version at one of the nuclear plants immediately disappears. Indeed, in the event of such a leak, an increase in the concentration of not only ruthenium-106, but also some other radioactive substances, would be observed.
The main working version in Germany is the accident at the Russian Mayak plant in Ozersk, Chelyabinsk Region.
Russian Footprint
There is a version according to which the leak occurred at the Mayak nuclear complex and was hidden from the public by the Russian authorities. Such actions are in direct violation of international standards, in particular, the early warning convention adopted by the international community. According to this document, the country where the radioactive release occurred is obliged to immediately notify other countries about it.
Presumably, the accident was associated with work carried out at the plant by order of the National Laboratory of Gran Sasso from Italy. For research purposes, Italians needed a compact capsule with a high level of radiation. The Russian side said that it is impossible to create a device with the required parameters. According to the French investigation, the Russians could not finish the job due to the leak of the substance necessary to create the capsule, as a result of which ruthenium-106 was released into the atmosphere.
The Russian Academy of Sciences, which also connected to the solution to this incident, could neither confirm nor deny the southern Urals origin of the ejection. Background radiation measurements and other measurements did not show any clear and irrefutable indications of the source of the leak.
The “Russian trace” seems doubtful because of the results of measurements of the concentration of ruthenium-106 in Russia and other European countries. With the Russian origin of the substance, its concentration in our country should be much higher, but this is not observed. On the contrary, for example, in Romania it turned out to be 1,5-2 times higher than in our country.
Perhaps this entire campaign is part of an anti-Russian campaign, but not necessarily.
For example, Sylvia Cotting-Ul, deputy of the Bundestag and chairman of the committee for environmental protection, is actively lobbying for a ban on nuclear energy, raising the topic of ruthenium-106. She says that "the world cannot cope with atomic energy." Perhaps this position hides not only humanitarian goals, but also economic. Indeed, in Germany, nuclear energy is not so developed, as, for example, in France. And the closure of nuclear power plants will have little effect on the Germans, but France will also make France more energy dependent on other countries.
At the moment, it is difficult to draw definite conclusions, because no one has been able to explain the reason for the appearance of ruthenium-106 over Europe with absolute certainty.
Mysterious cloud
In the fall of 2017, a cloud was discovered in the atmosphere with an increased concentration of radioactive ruthenium-106. It moved through the whole of Europe and covered Germany, Austria and Italy. Background changes were observed in other countries. Despite the fact that the radioactive layer had a large area, its concentration was low and did not exceed the maximum permissible concentrations. The total amount of radioactive substance contained in the cloud was approximately 1 to 4 grams.
In other words, this atmospheric phenomenon does not pose a direct danger to the life and health of European residents. Despite this, the German "greens" believe that an accident occurred in Russia a year ago, which in terms of scale is in third place after Chernobyl and Fukushima.
The release version at one of the nuclear plants immediately disappears. Indeed, in the event of such a leak, an increase in the concentration of not only ruthenium-106, but also some other radioactive substances, would be observed.
The main working version in Germany is the accident at the Russian Mayak plant in Ozersk, Chelyabinsk Region.
Russian Footprint
There is a version according to which the leak occurred at the Mayak nuclear complex and was hidden from the public by the Russian authorities. Such actions are in direct violation of international standards, in particular, the early warning convention adopted by the international community. According to this document, the country where the radioactive release occurred is obliged to immediately notify other countries about it.
Presumably, the accident was associated with work carried out at the plant by order of the National Laboratory of Gran Sasso from Italy. For research purposes, Italians needed a compact capsule with a high level of radiation. The Russian side said that it is impossible to create a device with the required parameters. According to the French investigation, the Russians could not finish the job due to the leak of the substance necessary to create the capsule, as a result of which ruthenium-106 was released into the atmosphere.
The Russian Academy of Sciences, which also connected to the solution to this incident, could neither confirm nor deny the southern Urals origin of the ejection. Background radiation measurements and other measurements did not show any clear and irrefutable indications of the source of the leak.
The “Russian trace” seems doubtful because of the results of measurements of the concentration of ruthenium-106 in Russia and other European countries. With the Russian origin of the substance, its concentration in our country should be much higher, but this is not observed. On the contrary, for example, in Romania it turned out to be 1,5-2 times higher than in our country.
Perhaps this entire campaign is part of an anti-Russian campaign, but not necessarily.
For example, Sylvia Cotting-Ul, deputy of the Bundestag and chairman of the committee for environmental protection, is actively lobbying for a ban on nuclear energy, raising the topic of ruthenium-106. She says that "the world cannot cope with atomic energy." Perhaps this position hides not only humanitarian goals, but also economic. Indeed, in Germany, nuclear energy is not so developed, as, for example, in France. And the closure of nuclear power plants will have little effect on the Germans, but France will also make France more energy dependent on other countries.
At the moment, it is difficult to draw definite conclusions, because no one has been able to explain the reason for the appearance of ruthenium-106 over Europe with absolute certainty.
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