Kremlin Says No Signals Of Radiation Alert Received From Abroad After Arkhangelsk Blast

Sumaira FH Published August 26, 2019 | 04:55 PM

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Moscow had not received any signals regarding the increase of background radiation from foreign monitoring stations after the recent accident at a military testing range in the Arkhangelsk region

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th August, 2019) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Moscow had not received any signals regarding the increase of background radiation from foreign monitoring stations after the recent accident at a military testing range in the Arkhangelsk region.

Earlier in the day, Russia's Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring said that it had found radioactive isotopes of strontium, barium and lanthanum in samples taken in the city of Severodvinsk, located in the Arkhangelsk region, after the blast, adding that now the radiation situation had returned to normal.

"We are focusing on the official conclusions of both the city administration and relevant agencies, which also noted the absence of any contamination threat. Moreover, we pay attention to the absence of any signals from measuring stations of other states, which are in close proximity to this area.

You know, there are many stations. You also perfectly know that none of these stations received any signals," Peskov told reporters, answering a question on how the Kremlin assessed the situation.

Peskov stressed that experts, rather than the president's office, should evaluate the situation and make statements on whether there was any risk of contamination.

The blast at the military site occurred during the testing of a liquid-propellant rocket engine on August 8. Russia's State Nuclear Corporation, Rosatom, said the explosion and fire on an off-shore platform killed five of its employees and injured three.

The regional unit of the Ministry of Emergencies reported a few days after the explosion that the background radiation in the region was normal, judging by the samples of soil, water and sand.