Russian city near China’s border says radiation under control after workshop leak triggered emergency alert
- Mobile repair and chemical workshop to blame for localised radiation alert in far eastern city of Khabarovsk, Tass reports
- ‘Dangers are very close to us,’ Weibo user says, flagging radioactive waste storage facility in city just 30km from China’s Heilongjiang province
A city in the Russian far east near the border with China says radiation levels have returned to normal after a 1,600-fold localised spike prompted a state of emergency last week.
The radiation was found to have been caused by parts from a mobile repair and chemical workshop, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing authorities in Khabarovsk.
The city of about 640,000 people lies 30km (18.6 miles) from China’s northernmost Heilongjiang province.
The increased radiation levels were detected near a power pylon around 2.5km from residential buildings, Tass said in its report on Monday.
“An increase in the natural background radiation was registered in the area of Suvorova and Sidorenko streets in Khabarovsk last week. Outside the epicentre, the radiation level was normal,” it said.
Local authorities contacted by phone on Tuesday told the Post that the issue had been resolved.
According to The Moscow Times, a resident alerted emergency services after discovering that radiation levels had jumped sharply near a metal depot in the city’s industrial district.