News
Publish date: June 19, 1997
Written by: Igor Kudrik
News
According to Georgy Kaurov, Chief Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Atomic Energy (Minatom), the incident prompted strong safety measures. The room where the accident took place has been sealed, and a commission, led by deputy head of Minatom’s Department for Emergency Situations Gennady Novikov, has been appointed to decide how to unseal the room and reach the malfunctioning equipment without causing severe consequences.
Kaurov said to Interfax that the incident occurred while conducting research related to nuclear weaponry, in a so-called critical assembly unit. In such a facility fissile materials are in a state close to the critical moment of chain reaction.
The injured scientist received a dose of between 1 and 2 Sv and was sent for treatment at the Health Ministry’s Clinic no.6. According to Kaurov, such a dose would have been lethal a few years ago, but modern medicine have found ways to cure this kind of radiation victims.
Allegedly, there was no radiation discharge to the environment.
Throughout the past year, our mission at the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center has focused on two key, but intertwined issues—nuclear and radiation safety as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, and the worldwide influence of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which itself is actively involved in the war and has participated in the occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
At the beginning of the year, reports in the German and Russian press suggested an approximate 70% increase in uranium imports from Russia to Germany in 2024. But does this reflect broader European trends? It does not. Overall, imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia to Western countries actually dropped sharply in 2024. Unlike the situation in Germany, this is already an established trend.
A Lingen, Germany plant could begin producing nuclear fuel in cooperation with a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, which is directly involved in the war in Ukraine and occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.