A RUSSIAN city declared a state of emergency today after a mystery radiation leak.
High radiation levels were found near a pylon just 1.5 miles away from homes in Khabarovsk, according to reports.
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Authorities cordoned off the area on Friday – but the source of the potentially lethal radiation leak is not known and has not been made public.
Andrey Kolchin, the Head of Civil Defence in the city, said: “A source of increased radiation levels was discovered… the area was cordoned.
“It was decided to introduce a state of emergency in Khabarovsk to carry out work faster.”
Authorities said the source of radiation was “removed and placed in a protective container” and taken to a radioactive waste storage facility.
But a state of emergency will remain in place for at least three more days as law enforcement agencies monitor radiation levels and probe the cause.
But it appears to have taken a week for authorities in the city to act on reports of a leak.
A youngster is said to have reported a high radiation reading to the city’s authorities on March 28.
But a state of emergency was only declared on April 5 – just over a week later.
Footage also emerged showing a man wearing a nuclear protective mask and holding a radiation reader.
The reader quickly rose as he walked over what was described as a “waste dump”.
It sounded an alarm at 0.45 microsieverts – the unit that measures radiation – and the highest reading visible on the screen was 5.99.
But the man was heard saying there was a reading of 20 – enough to potentially increase the risk of cancer, damage DNA, damage foetuses and threaten the health of children.
It was decided to introduce a state of emergency in Khabarovsk to carry out work faster
Andrey Kolchin
Russia’s consumer safety watchdog said no one has been injured so far or exposed to radiation – and “there is no threat to the health of citizens”, according to TASS news agency.
A source at Radon Nuclear Agency said: “The radiation source was removed and placed in a protective container, transported to a radioactive waste storage facility.
“There is no environmental pollution and no threat to society.”
