Radioactive cloud covering Europe may have originated in Russia

The Russian Meteorological Service detected very high levels of the radioactive isotope ruthenium-106 in the southern Ural Mountains.

European countries detected radioactive clouds in October. Photo: Inhabitat

An unusual radioactive cloud containing the isotope ruthenium-106 that appeared over Europe in October may have originated in Russia, according to the Russian Meteorological Service, Live Science reported on November 22.

Member states of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) detected large amounts of the radioactive isotope ruthenium-106 hovering over 14 European countries in early October, according to a report from the French Nuclear Safety Authority. Based on the radiation levels, experts suspect the radioactive cloud originated in Russia. Russia has denied any nuclear accident on its territory.

However, the Russian Meteorological Service announced yesterday that it had detected very high levels of ruthenium-106 in the southern Ural Mountains in late September. The amount of ruthenium-106 in Argayash was 986 times higher than normal.

Ruthenium-106 is a radioactive isotope of ruthenium, with a different number of neutrons than the naturally occurring form of the parent element. Chemically, the hard, white metal is similar to platinum and can be produced by dissolving platinum in nitric acid and hydrochloric acid. Ruthenium is rare and was discovered in 1844 in the Ural Mountains, according to Live Science.

Ruthenium-106 does not occur naturally and is typically produced by splitting uranium-235 atoms in nuclear reactors. Ruthenium-106 is also produced during nuclear fuel reprocessing, which involves separating radioactive plutonium and uranium from spent nuclear fuel in nuclear power reactors, according to the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists.

Experts also use ruthenium-106 in radiation therapy for cancers of the eye and head, according to the journal Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry. Small amounts of the substance are also used in thermoelectric generators on satellites, according to IRSN, the French institute for research on radiation and nuclear risks.

Ruthenium is toxic and can cause cancer if ingested in large amounts. It also remains in bones for a long time. However, the amount of ruthenium detected in the past two months appears to be safe, according to IRSN.

Based on the concentration of ruthenium-106, the source of radiation could be near the Ural Mountains. Photo: IRSN

The concentrations of ruthenium-106 in the air recorded in Europe, especially France, do not pose any adverse consequences for the environment or human health, the IRSN asserts. Within a few kilometers of the radioactive emission point, food may be contaminated with ruthenium. However, the risk of this food being exported is very low.

The radioactive cloud did not contain any other nuclear byproducts, so it is unlikely that the cloud originated directly from the nuclear reactor, according to the French Nuclear Safety Authority. Since ruthenium-106 does not occur naturally and there have been no reports of satellites falling nearby, the most likely cause was an uncontrolled release.

About 30 km from the Argayash weather center is the Mayak nuclear plant in Chelyabinsk Oblast. This plant reprocesses nuclear fuel to produce radioactive substances for industrial and research use, according to the Straits Times.

However, state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom, which operates the Mayak plant, denied that the site was involved in the radioactive cloud.

"The atmospheric contamination with the isotope ruthenium-106, as confirmed by the Russian Meteorological Service, is not related to Mayak's activities. The data they published show that the amount of ruthenium-106 is 20,000 times less than the annual permissible threshold and does not threaten human health," said a Rosatom representative.

The Mayak plant has experienced several nuclear accidents in the past. In 1957, the Kyshtym disaster, the world’s third-largest nuclear accident, occurred, affecting the surrounding area and hundreds of thousands of people. The two largest nuclear disasters occurred at the Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan.

According to VNE