A RUSSIAN city has declared a state of emergency after a mystery radiation leak.
The radiation source was “removed and placed in a protective container” and “transported to a radioactive waste storage facility” on Friday.
Khabarovsk – close to the border with China – has a population of 630,000
Authorities have not explained the cause behind the leak in the city of Khabarovsk, near the border with China.
And a state of emergency will remain in place for at least three more days – as law enforcement agencies probe the leak.
It appears to have taken a week for authorities to act on reports of a leak.
According to TASS news agency, elevated radiation levels were found near a power pylon about 1.5 miles from residential buildings.
No one has been injured or exposed to radiation – and “there is no threat to the health of citizens”, Russia’s consumer safety watchdog reportedly said.
Footage emerged showing a man wearing a nuclear protective mask and holding a radiation reader that quickly rose as he walked over a “waste dump”.
The reader sounded an alarm at 0.45 microsieverts – the unit that measures radiation – and the highest reading visible on screen is 5.99.
But the man was heard saying there was a reading of 20 – enough potentially to increase cancer risk, damage DNA, and threaten the health of children.
The potentially lethal radiation leak in Khabarovsk was known for around one week before action was taken, according to reports.
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