The source of the radioactive cloud that hovered over Europe in early October is being narrowed down to the Urals. The Russian nuclear agency insists there has been no accident. Is it a cover-up?
Image: AFP/Getty Images/K. Tribouillard
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There are further indications that the release of the radioactive isotope ruthenium-106 could be traced back to the Mayak nuclear facility in the Ural region, a reprocessing site for spent nuclear fuel.
Russian meteorological service Rosgidromet confirmed on Monday the release of Ru-106 in the southern Urals in late September and early October, classifying it as an "extremely high contamination."
French nuclear safety institute IRSN reported on November 9 that radioactivity had been detected in France between September 27 and October 13, and that it likely stemmed from Russia or Kazakhstan.
At the Russian measuring station Argayash, the highest level measured was 986 times that of the previous month, the Russian weather service said in a statement. At the Novogorny station, the measured levels were 440 times higher.
In mid-October Russian nuclear agency Rosatom denied that any of its facilities experienced any incidents — today, it again denied this.
The Mayak nuclear facility was at fault for at least two of Russia's biggest radioactive accidentsImage: picture-alliance/dpa
Officials at Mayak have said the dose of radiation is 20,000 times smaller than the "allowed annual dose," and therefore "poses no danger to human health and lives."
In a statement released on Tuesday, environmental group Greenpeace demanded an in-depth inquiry "into potential concealment of a nuclear incident" and an investigation into public health risks.
Mayak was the location of the Kyshtym disaster in 1957, which remains the third-most serious nuclear accident ever recorded.
sad/im (AFP, AP, Reuters)
The Chernobyl photos that have shaped our memory
The nuclear disaster of Chernobyl became photographer Gerd Ludwig's life's work. He was one of the first foreign journalists to see the site of the tragedy for himself. His images have shaped public opinion for 30 years.
Image: Gerd Ludwig, National Geographic Creative
A lonely return
Gerd Ludwig took this picture of 92-year-old Kharytina in 2011. She chose to return to her birthplace Teremtzi, which is located inside the so-called exclusion zone near the Ukrainian disaster site. Kharytina lives in isolation in her wooden house, is almost deaf and has difficulty walking. Among the first journalists to access the site, Ludwig has been photographing Chernobyl for 30 years.
Image: Gerd Ludwig/National Geographic Creative
A late radiation victim
Veronika is five years old and suffers from leukemia. Hre mother Yelena was born in a town neighboring Chernobyl - four years before the nuclear disaster. Veronika's disease is a late consequence of the radiation that ensued after the meltdown. Gerd Ludwig took this picture at the Center for Radiation Medicine in Lyiv in 2011.
Image: Gerd Ludwig, National Geographic Creative
Timeless reminders of nuclear disaster
This picture was taken 25 years after the nuclear meltdown in Chernobyl. The image of a library in the town of Pripyat depicts the extent of the devastation since the disaster. Gerd Ludwig's images have become timeless witnesses to one of the greatest calamities of the industrial age.
Image: Gerd Ludwig, National Geographic Creative
A silent observer
According to the World Health Organization, about 4,000 people died in the immediate aftermath of the accident at Chernobyl. Another 4,000 perished on account of long-term complications after being exposed to radiation. German photographer Gerd Ludwig has repeatedly accompanied doctors, who continue to monitor nearby residents for radiation damage.
Image: Gerd Ludwig, National Geographic Creative
Poetic, but deadly
Some of Gerd Ludwig's images almost appear romantic in nature, with tender snow flakes falling onto a lush winter landscape in the twilight hour. But there's a yellow sign, sending off a crucial warning: Beware of the deadly radiation
