Russia confirms extremely high radiation levels in toxic cloud

[Judi Lynn]

21 November 2017

By New Scientist staff and Press Association

Russian authorities have confirmed reports of a spike in radioactivity in the air over the Ural Mountains.

The Russian Meteorological Service said it recorded the release of Ruthenium-106 in the southern Urals in late September and classified it as “extremely high contamination”.

France’s nuclear safety agency earlier this month said that it recorded radioactivity in the area between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains from a suspected accident involving nuclear fuel or the production of radioactive material.

More:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2153998-russia-confirms-extremely-high-radiation-levels-in-toxic-cloud/?cmpid=ILC|NSNS|2017_webpush&utm_medium=ILC&utm_source=NSNS&utm_campaign=webpush-Russia-news

[Wellstone ruled]

1. This is interesting.

Are the Russians restarting their Nuclear Program? If this story is true,this cloud needs to be traced,some of the most toxic nuclear by products.

[defacto7]

2. I think Ruthenium106 is medical usage.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong. It's still radiation though.

[Wellstone ruled]

3. It is all about

the Concentration and wash out effects as the Cloud is caught up in the Jet Stream and circles the Globe.

[defacto7]

4. True this...

It probably (citation needed) has a source from a medical radiation plant rather than weapons. Either way it's bad but if it were from a nuclear weapon facility there are more implications to be concerned about.

[hunter]

5. It would be nice to have some transparency...

... especially for the people living in the area.

Somebody screwed up. How?

Can similar accidents be prevented?

The scale of this accident is similar to a 1987 accident in Brazil, where a medical radiation device was taken from a scrap yard and broken open.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goi%C3%A2nia_accident

It's pretty easy to imagine someone throwing some old medical stock into an incinerator or similar accident. It shouldn't be that difficult to trace the source down unless organized crime is involved or a private company is trying to shield itself from prosecution.