Thieves Steal Radioactive Object in Russia report from Pravda

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Thieves Steal Radioactive Object in Russia report from Pravda



A very dangerous radioactive cylinder was stolen and then thrown into the

Baltic Sea



  http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/97/384/9772_radioactive.html



On March 28, a radiation source, RIT-90, was taken out of the Baltic Sea in

the Leningrad region. The source contained 1,500 curies of

radioactivestrontium-90. The operation was successfully conducted by

specialists from the Russian Northwest region's storer of low-radioactive

wastes, Rodan.



Unknown ecological vandals plundered a desolate beacon and stole about 500

kilos of stainless steel, aluminum and lead. They then threw a hot

(300-400 degrees Celsius) radioactive cylinder into the sea, some 200 meters

from the beacon. The cylinder (which weighed five kilograms) melted through

about 70 centimeters of ice, reached the seafloor and plunged into the

frozen sand.



Radioactive RIT-90 sources contain strontium-90 titanate. This insoluble

substance (which has a decomposition period of about 30 years) is used as a

source of heat energy. Its capacity is about 40 watts. A thermocouple and a

simple electronic device convert its heat into high-power electric and light

impulses. The dose of radiation it gives off is about 1,000 roentgen per

hour 20 cm from the cylinder. In other words, this source of radiation emits

a dose that is for a human being within just a few minutes.



There are about a hundred such beacons in the eastern part of the Gulf of

Finland. They assist in sea navigation in the Russian part of the Baltic

Sea. After military men found that a radioactive cylinder was missing at the

beacon, they contacted the specialty company Radon, asking it to find and

isolate the dangerous cylinder.



A special company team, as well as a group of marines and police officers,

spent several hours searching for the cylinder. They managed to take it out

of the water with the help of a spade. The dangerous object was then taken

to a highway and placed into a lead container. After that, the cylinder was

taken to Radon, where it was thoroughly examined. The radioactive object is

to be transported to the Mayak enterprise in the Chelyabinsk region to be

buried.



The extremely dangerous situation has been resolved. The authorities do

Not want to make it public in order not to frighten people. However, this

was not the first time that a radioactive object has been stolen. The same

beacon was plundered three years ago under the same circumstances, and a

lethal cylinder was found on a bus stop in the town of Kingisepp, about 50

kilometers from the site of the crime. It is known that three thieves died

as a result of radiation exposure. No one will ever know how many people in

total were exposed to radiation while they were waiting for buses. It seems

that the authorities did not want to learn their lesson, although they are

supposed to guarantee people's security.



What is to be done in order to prevent any further events like this from

happening? What if a radioactive cylinder is found on a metro station in St.

Petersburg one day? What if a terrorist blows a cylinder up, spreading

radioactive substances all over the region? Anyway, such bad news is not

likely to be heard of. It seems that only "good" ecological news will be

coming from Russia. The Deputy Natural Resources Minister has recently

distributed a telegram in which it was said that the information about both

natural and artificial negative or disastrous events should be considered

confidential. No information, no problems, so to speak.



==============================



Fred Dawson

New Malden

Surrey. KT3 5BP

England



020 8287 2176

personal web site http://www.fred-dawson.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/index.htm



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