News24
11 Aug 2019, 02:40 GMT+10
Russia's nuclear agency said Saturday an explosion during missile testing in the Arctic left five of its staff dead and involved radioactive isotopes after a nearby city reported a spike in radiation levels.
Rosatom said the force of explosion on Thursday threw several of its staff from a testing platform into the sea.
The military had not initially said that the accident involved nuclear equipment, but said that radiation levels were normal afterwards.
Nevertheless, officials in the nearby city of Severodvinsk reported that radiation levels briefly increased after the accident.
The incident occurred in the far northern Arkhangelsk region during testing of a liquid propellant jet engine when an explosion sparked a fire, killing two, the defence ministry said in a brief statement.
It was not immediately clear whether those two deaths were included in the five that Rosatom had reported.
Russian state news agencies quoted a defence ministry source as saying both defence ministry and Rosatom employees were killed.
Rosatom said its staff were providing engineering and technical support for the "isotope power source" of a missile being tested.
The missile was being tested on a platform at sea when its fuel caught fire and triggered an explosion, Rosatom said in a statement quoted on Russian television.
Several staff were thrown into the sea by the force of the blast, the nuclear agency said, adding that it only announced the deaths when there was no longer any hope that the employees had survived.
The accident left three more of its staff with burns and other injuries, Rosatom said.
It said staff knew of the "potential risk" of the test.
The authorities initially released few details of the accident at the Nyonoksa test site on the White Sea, used for testing missiles deployed in nuclear submarines and ships since the Soviet era.
The defence ministry said six defence ministry employees and a developer were injured, while two "specialists" died of their wounds.
Radiation spike
The authorities in Severodvinsk, 30 kilometres from the test site, said on their website on Thursday that automatic radiation detection sensors in the city "recorded a brief rise in radiation levels" around noon that day.
The post was later taken down and the defence ministry said that radiation levels were normal after the accident.
A Severodvinsk official responsible for civil defence, Valentin Magomedov, told TASS state news agency that radiation levels rose to 2.0 microsieverts per hour for half an hour from 08:50 GMT, before falling sharply.
He said this exceeded the permitted limit of 0.6 microsieverts, TASS reported.
Greenpeace Russia published a letter from officials at a Moscow nuclear research centre giving the same figure, but saying higher radiation levels lasted for an hour. The officials said this did not present any significant risk to public health.
Russian online media published an unattributed video which journalists said showed a line of ambulances speeding through Moscow to take the injured to a centre that specialises in the treatment of radiation victims.
Rosatom said that the injured were being treated at a "specialised medical centre".
Iodine panic
An expert from Moscow's Institute for Nuclear Research, Boris Zhuikov, told RBK independent news site that isotope power sources are not usually dangerous for people working with them.
"If they are damaged, people who are nearby could be hurt. Isotope sources use various types of fuel: plutonium, promethium or cerium," Zhuikov said.
The radioactivity levels involved are "absolutely not comparable with those during serious accidents at reactors," he added.
News of the accident prompted residents of Severodvinsk to rush to pharmacies to stock up on iodine, which can be taken to prevent the thyroid gland absorbing radiation.
"People started to panic. Within a matter of an hour all the iodine and iodine-containing drugs were sold out," pharmacist Yelena Varinskaya told AFP.
The Soviet Union saw the world's worst nuclear accident at Chernobyl in 1986, when the authorities sought to cover up the seriousness of the disaster.
GET THE NEWS at your fingertips and download the News24 app for Android here now. Get it for your iPhone here.
Get a daily dose of San Antonio Post news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to San Antonio Post.
More InformationWASHINGTON, D.C.: In a significant ruling last week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for users...
MEXICO CITY, Mexico: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said this week that her government is investigating possible environmental...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Walmart is set to close a major Sam's Club fulfillment center in Fort Worth, Texas, as part of a shift in...
Broward County [Florida], July 2 (ANI): Left-hand batter Shimron Hetmyer's unbeaten 78-run knock guided Seattle Orcas to victory over...
Washington DC [US], July 2 (ANI): Actor Dwayne Johnson has a very special bond with singer and rapper Jelly Roll, and in fact, his...
Washington DC [US], July 2 (ANI): NASA astronaut Anil Menon has been assigned his first mission to the International Space Station,...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: In a significant ruling last week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for users...
ISTANBUL/PARIS/BRUSSELS: As searing temperatures blanket much of Europe, wildfires are erupting and evacuation orders are being issued...
VENICE, Italy: Over the weekend, hundreds of protesters marched through the narrow streets of Venice to voice their opposition to billionaire...
PARIS, France: France is taking stronger steps to reduce smoking. A new health rule announced on Saturday will soon ban smoking in...
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed Elon Musk's success has been built on government subsidies. Without...
EVERGLADES, Florida: Over the weekend, a diverse coalition of environmental activists, Native American leaders, and residents gathered...