News

Atomflot Deputy Director charged with storage of radioactive materials

Publish date: October 8, 2003

Murmansk region law-enforcement agencies revealed the fact of illegal acquisition and storage of radioactive materials.

The appropriate charges were levelled in the end of September against Deputy Director of nuclear icebreakers’ base Atomflot Alexander Tyulyakov who had been arrested in August. The local police and the FSB found ammunition and unknown radioactive material during search in his flat, garage and car. The operation and the arrest were kept in secret from public in attempt to find the possible buyers who could order radioactive material, which was sent for evaluation to the local science centre. The official results of the expertise are yet unknown, although it was reported that the material contains uranium-235, uranium-238 and radium. The suspect stored the material in the special protective container, however, anyone who stay for some days close to the container could die of leukemia. Such materials cannot not be found at the Atomflot base, which continues to operate normally, Kommersant daily reported.