Russia Nuclear Institute Fire: 'No Threat' Says Government
First Posted: 02/ 5/2012 8:47 am Updated: 02/ 5/2012 3:34 pm
MOSCOW, Feb 5 (Reuters) - A fire broke out on Sunday at a Moscow nuclear research centre that houses a non-operational 60-year-old atomic reactor, an emergency official said, and Russia's nuclear agency said there were no open flames and no threat of a radiation leak.
The environmental group Greenpeace Russia expressed serious concern about the incident.
The fire was in a basement at the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics in southwestern Moscow, said Sergei Vlasov, spokesman for the Moscow branch of the Emergencies Ministry. He said no casualties were reported.
Grey smoke rose above the institute, which is encircled by a wall, and an acrid smell filled the air. Some 30 emergency vehicles, including fire trucks and ambulances, stood inside and outside the main gate, witnesses said.
Sergei Novikov, spokesman for Russia's state nuclear agency Rosatom, said there were no open flames, only smoke that came from an area housing power cables and could not affect any nuclear materials at the institute.
"This case poses no threat to fissile materials," said Novikov, adding that firefighters were pumping foam into the affected area. He said the institute's heavy-water research reactor was no longer operational.
A Greenpeace Russia official said the incident was potentially very dangerous.
"This is extremely dangerous ... this should not have happened at all, but as long as it did, it shows there has been a major failure in their operations," said Ivan Blokov, campaign director at Greenpeace Russia.
"What we have here is a large amount of radioactive substance right in the centre of Moscow and even if a minor quantity leaks, it would pose a serious problem," he said.
Russian news agencies issued conflicting reports.
Interfax cited a police source as saying fire brigades were denied access to the facility for "a long time" before being allowed in.
Vlasov said he could not confirm the report, but said the fire had not been extinguished as of 2:45 p.m. (1045 GMT). State-run RIA reported earlier that that the fire had already been put out.
Safety at Russia's nuclear facilities has been a concern since the deadly 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, then a Soviet republic. The Soviet authorities did not announce that disaster for two days.
A fire aboard a nuclear submarine in the north Russian port of Murmansk in December severely damaged the vessel, but authorities said radiation levels remained normal.
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Event Notifications
February 5, 2012
Fire at Russian Nuclear Research Centre in Moscow
A fire broke out on Sunday at a Moscow nuclear research centre that houses a non-operational 60-year-old atomic reactor, emergency officials reported as Russia’s nuclear agency Rosatom said the blaze had not been accompanied by any open flames and posed no threat of a radiation leak.
While the cause remains undetermined, Sergei Vlasov, a spokesman for the Moscow branch of the Emergency Services ministry, told Reuters that fire has begun in a basement.
Sergei Novikov, a spokesman for Rosatom, remained mum about whether any nuclear or radioactive materials remained in the six-decade old heavy water reactor, though they said the reactor is non-operational.
He said that firefighters were pumping foam into the affected area, and that the institute’s heavy-water research reactor was no longer operational, the Reuters report said.
Grey smoke was reported by witnesses to be rising above the institute, which is encircled by a wall as bitter smell filled the air, Reuters reported. Interfax cited a police source as saying fire brigades were denied access to the facility for “a long time” before being allowed in. Some 30 emergency vehicles, including fire trucks and ambulances, stood inside and outside the main gate of the institute, witnesses told the news agency.
Source: Enformatable.com
