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Abstract: In February-April 2006, several incidents with radioactive sources took place in Russia. The following article is a summary of these incidents.
According to Russian media reports from 27 February 2006, a Mercedes Benz truck attempting to enter Russia was detained at the Port of St. Petersburg when its driver was passing through the port checkpoint. A radiation detector installed at the checkpoint sounded an alarm indicating that the truck’s cargo was emitting radiation. The amount of radiation was not clear from available media reports: according to one source, radiation was three times higher than the natural background level of 0.1 microsievert per hour; however another source claims that radiation was equal to 30 microsieverts per hour. [Editor’s Note: “Background radiation” refers to radiation from naturally occurring sources.] A subsequent examination of the truck by port officials revealed a piece of equipment that contained an unspecified radioactive source. Since the cargo’s owner presented no documents permitting the import or use of the equipment, the authorities impounded the truck and its cargo.[1,2] The media reports on this incident do not identify the cargo’s owner nor its country of origin.
On the same day, the Russian media reported a similar incident near Pskov, a city located 250km southwest of St. Petersburg. Pskov customs officers detained a Volvo truck loaded with a large piece of equipment containing a radioactive source that emitted an unspecified amount of radiation. The truck and its cargo were placed at a special storage site for further examination.[2] Available reports did not provide any other details of the incident. On 6 March 2006, Pskov Customs officers at the Shumilkino checkpoint discovered another radioactive cargo during the inspection of a truck arriving from Poland. Radiation from the cargo—more than 20 tons of potassium hydroxide—was almost three times higher than the maximum exposure level considered safe under Russian regulations. According to the truck driver, a Polish national, the cargo was intended for a private company in St. Petersburg, however media reports did not provide any other information on those involved in the incident.[3]
In a separate development, on 24 March 2006, radioactive scrap metal was discovered at the Marine Fishery Port of Vladivostok. Specialists from Primtekhnopolis, a local company responsible for radiation safety, examined the radioactive cargo and removed a source of radiation which turned out to be a fast neutron source, 30mm to 20mm in size. Radiation on the surface of the source was 14,000 microroentgens per hour. According to media reports, the source did not cause human casualties or radioactive contamination of the adjacent area. Local authorities launched an investigation into the incident.[4,5][Editor's Note: With regards to gamma and beta emitters, levels of sieverts and roentgens are essentially equivalent and can be used interchangeably. Sievert measures the dose equivalent, i.e. the effective radiation dose on living tissue, whereas roentgen or rad measures the dose or radiation energy deposited in a material, whether living or not.]
Another radioactive source was discovered on 29 March 2006, in Barnaul, Altay Kray, at the site of the Barnaul Second Thermal Power Plant (TETs-2). The detected source turned out to be a container marked with a radioactivity sign and labeled as “iridium, 12 curie, 1977, weight 7kg.” Media reports indicated that radiation levels around the container were “relatively low”—not exceeding the background level at a meter’s distance from the item. Further examination of the item by representatives from the local departments of the ministries of Emergency Situations and Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service established that the radioactive container was part of a Stapel-5M gamma radiography device known as “defectoscope” that uses iridium-192 for the non-destructive testing of the quality of welding seams and foundry products. According to TETs-2’s director of safety and security issues, Mikhail Molostov, the plant does not use equipment containing such sources; law enforcement authorities have therefore launched an investigation into how the device ended up at TETs-2.[6,7] [Editor’s Note: Iridium is a dense, very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum family. It is used in high strength alloys that can withstand high temperatures and occurs in natural alloys with platinum or osmium. Iridium is known for being the most corrosion resistant element.[8] One of its radioisotopes, iridium-192, is of high security concern. Very small amounts (much less than one gram) can be injurious and could serve as the radioactive component of a radiation dispersal device.]
As reported by Russia’s Baltic Customs press service, in mid-April 2006, Baltic Customs officers at the Port of St. Petersburg detained a minivan ferried from Germany after high radioactivity was detected in its cargo. During the inspection of the cargo, customs officers discovered a metal box marked with a radioactivity sign. Radiation from the box exceeded background levels by almost 100 times. The unspecified radioactive equipment was not declared in customs documents that accompanied the cargo. In accordance with Russian regulations, the cargo was sent back to Germany where it was seized by German customs authorities in the Port of Cuxhaven. The German customs officials admitted that the cargo was sent to Russia in violation of German foreign trade regulations. According to press reports, the German customs service launched an investigation into the incident.[9]
Sources:
[1] “‘Mersedes-Bents’ s istochnikom radioaktivnogo izlucheniya byl zaderzhan v Morskom portu Peterburga” (Mercedes Benz with a radioactive source detained at the Seaport of St. Petersburg), Agentstvo Biznes Novostey (Business News Agency, St. Petersburg), 27 February 2006, <http://www.abnews.ru>.
[2] “Avtomobili s radiatsiey proryvalis s dvukh tamozhennykh postov” (Radioactive cars tried to break through two customs posts), Fontanka.ru (St. Petersburg online newspaper), 27 February 2006, <http://www.fontanka.ru>.
[3] Olga Vtorova, “Na Pskovskoy tamozhne zaderzhan polskiy gruzovik s radioaktivnym gruzom” (A Polish truck with radioactive cargo detained at the Pskov Customs), RIA Novosti, 6 March 2006, <http://www.rian.ru>.
[4] “Likvidirovana radiatsionnaya avariya” (A radiation incident has been resolved), Primtekhnopolis website, 24 March 2006, <http://www.primtechnopolis.ru>.
[5] Veronika Perminova, “V portu Vladivostoka obezvrezhen istochnik neytronnogo izlucheniya” (A neutron source neutralized in the port of Vladivostok), RIA Novosti, 27 March 2006, <http://www.rian.ru>.
[6] “V zone vosstanovitelnykh rabot na Barnaulskoy TETs-2 nayden istochnik radioaktivnogo izlucheniya” (A radioactive source discovered at the reconstruction site of the Barnaul TETs-2), Bankfax (Altay Kray information website), 30 March 2006, <http://www.bankfax.ru>. [7] Yana Ryabinskaya, “Radioaktivnyy konteyner v Barnaule – fragment izmeritelnogo pribora” (A radioactive container in Barnaul is part of a measuring device), RIA Novosti, 30 March 2006, <http://www.rian.ru>. [8] “Iridium,” Wikipedia, online encyclopedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium>. [9] “Tamozhennaya sluzhba Germanii poblagodarila rossiyskikh tamozhennikov za sotrudnichestvo, professionalnyye i operativnyye deystviya” (Germany’s Customs Service thanked Russian customs officers for cooperation, professional and effective actions), SeverInform News Agency, 6 May 2006, <http://www.severinform.ru>. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
