Russian agency says radioactive isotopes were found after mysterious explosion
Russian state officials admitted Monday that radioactive gases with isotopes of barium, strontium and lanthanum were found in test samples following an explosion at a military test site but insisted there was no danger in the area.
The blast earlier this month killed at least five state nuclear scientists and caused a brief spike in radiation around the area. Few and conflicting details emerged immediately following the blast, sparking speculation on the extent of its effects.
The Aug. 8 explosion on a platform in the White Sea off Nyonoksa caused a reported brief spike in radiation in nearby Severodvinsk, but Russians have said it posed no risk to the region.
Russia’s state weather and environmental monitoring agency said Monday that no trace of the radioactive gases has been found in the area since Aug. 8.
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According to Reuters, the isotopes were Strontium-91, Barium-139, Barium-140 and Lanthanum-140, which have half-lives of 9.3 hours, 83 minutes, 12.8 days and 40 hours, respectively.
On Friday, a Norwegian monitoring institute said it believes the radiation spike was caused by a second explosion that occurred a few hours after the first blast, Reuters reported.
The Arkhangelsk regional government, however, denied that report from Norway’s Seismic Array and said it had no information about a second blast, TASS reported.
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Severodvinsk experienced a radiation increase four to 16 times above normal background levels, Russian weather service Rosgidromet said earlier this month.
The the city's civil defense department had said that radiation peaked at only three times above normal levels immediately following the incident. That's still less radiation than a normal X-ray of someone's digestive tract, according to TASS.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also since admitted the accident occurred during a test of a weapons system, Reuters reported.
Nuclear experts had speculated that Russians were testing SSC-X-9 Skyfall, a prototype cruise missile that could reach any corner of the world with a nuclear reactor as its power source, the New York Times reported.
President Donald Trump tweeted days after the blast, "that the "United States is learning much from the failed missile explosion in Russia."
"We have similar, though more advanced, technology. The Russian 'Skyfall' explosion has people worried about the air around the facility, and far beyond. Not good!" Trump added at the time.
Contributing; The Associated Press. Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Russia explosion: Radioactive isotopes were found after Nyonoksa blast
