The radioactive cloud detected across Europe late last year may have been caused by an incident in Mayak nuclear facility, one of Russia's biggest, France's radioactivity surveillance institute said Tuesday.

"One possible hypothesis is that of a leak coming from an incident during an operation involving radioactive fuel cooled for around two years in Mayak complex, which is in the area between the Volga and the Urals," France's Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) said.

European monitoring stations began detecting increased levels of the Ruthenium-106 isotope in the atmosphere in late September.

Russian authorities said they were not aware of any accident on their territory.

The IRSN had said at the time it believed the radiation came from the area between the Volga river and the Ural mountains and that it suspected a leak from a nuclear fuel treatment site rather than an accident in a nuclear reactor.

It said the radiation had not been harmful to public health or the environment.

Russia has set up an international commission of experts to investigate the matter.

The Mayak plant suffered one of the world's worst nuclear accidents in 1957 when an explosion caused radiation to be released over a wide area.

Today, the site houses a nuclear reprocessing plant.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Dutch 'ill-prepared' for cross-border nuclear accident: probe
The Hague (AFP) Jan 31, 2018
The Netherlands must boost cooperation with neighbouring Belgium and Germany to better prepare for any cross-border nuclear power accident, Dutch safety officials warned Wednesday. That was the conclusion of an investigation by the Dutch Safety Board (OVV), amid rising Dutch concerns over Belgium's ageing Doel and Tihange nuclear reactors, which lie in a densely-populated area just across the southern Dutch-Belgian border. The OVV also included the Borssele nuclear power plant, in the Netherland ... read more