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I cannot find anything in the news media about this yet to either confirm or debunk this - please see if you can find anything.
The only information is from the web site of the EU's JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE, EUropean Radiological Data Exchange Platform - information about them from their web site:
Here's some info about the nuclear plant undergoing decommissioning:
The site reports a recording of an increase over approximately a weeks time span in Gamma Radiation from a normal background level of ~100 nSv (nano-Sieverts) to a level of ~1.5 million nSv (equal to 1.5 Sieverts). In this linked page, look at the map that comes up, click on the dark blue hexagon at the far right of Lithuania and then look to the lower left side of the page for a list of monitoring sites - scroll down the list to "Visaginas_20367" and click on it to bring up the pop-up window showing the actual readings from the site.
You will see that the spike persisted for an approximately two day period as if a Gamma Radiation Source had been slowly exposed over a weeks time, then left completely exposed to the open for two days, then either covered with soil or concrete over an approximately two hour period until the monitor registered ~200,000 nSv as if the primary source had been covered and now only material in the area that was contaminated by the primary source was registering on the monitor. Based on my training in Radioactive Emergencies, and the evidence from the monitoring site, alone suggests a dangerous and unplanned exposure of a major Gamma Source, an evacuation of the area until a plan to mitigate the exposed source could be devised, and then a rapid implementation of the plan to cover the source which took a few hours to accomplish.
Now, a lethal dose (LD/50/30 - lethal dose in over 50% of the population over a 30 day period) of Gamma Radiation is can range from 3.5 Sieverts to 5 Sieverts (3.5 to 5 million nSv). The LD/10-35 (lethal dose in 10% to 35% of the population) which at it's very least will cause very severe nausea, hair loss, and hemorrhaging, is 2.0 to 3.5 Sieverts. Again, the unconfirmed (as far as I can research) reading at the monitoring site is at ~1.5 Sieverts. I hope you can now see the potential here.
All the consequences I listed above are immediate reactions to that level of a dose of Gamma Radiation and do not include long term formations of cancers from radiation poisoning.
If the monitoring site's data holds true and is confirmed, then the death toll from this potential event could be staggering.
Again, I can't confirm that the monitoring site's data is accurate, or of it is some sort of anomaly. The surrounding sites show no increase in background radiation, so there is that leans toward a misread by the monitoring site - however, any potentially exposed source could have been deep, surrounded by berms which would prevent lateral radiation hence protecting the surrounding communities from direct exposure - Gamma is a light ray, not a particle that could be spread by wind or cross contamination on people or vehicles, and would be deflected or absorbed by a properly constructed berm as is required to be placed around Gamma sources during a nuclear plant decommissioning, which could explain the low readings from surrounding communities.
If anyone can find out anything, please post it here.
The only information is from the web site of the EU's JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE, EUropean Radiological Data Exchange Platform - information about them from their web site:
What We Do
EURDEP (EUropean Radiological Data Exchange Platform) makes unvalidated radiological monitoring data from most European countries available in nearly real-time.
The main aim of the platform is to notify and inform competent authorities and the general public during the early phase of a large-scale accident with release of radioactivity to the atmosphere as early and extensively as possible.
The participation of the EU Member States is regulated by the Council Decision 87/600 and the Recommendation 2000/473/Euratom. The participation of non-EU countries is on a voluntary basis.
Wish to know what exactly EURDEP does? Get introduced to the "ABOUT section on this site".
Here's some info about the nuclear plant undergoing decommissioning:
Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant
Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant is a planned nuclear power plant project in Lithuania. It was proposed to be built at the site of the closed Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, which was shut down on 31 December 2009 in accordance with Lithuania's accession agreement to the European Union.[1] The two reactors of the Ignalina plant are currently undergoing a decommissioning process.
The site reports a recording of an increase over approximately a weeks time span in Gamma Radiation from a normal background level of ~100 nSv (nano-Sieverts) to a level of ~1.5 million nSv (equal to 1.5 Sieverts). In this linked page, look at the map that comes up, click on the dark blue hexagon at the far right of Lithuania and then look to the lower left side of the page for a list of monitoring sites - scroll down the list to "Visaginas_20367" and click on it to bring up the pop-up window showing the actual readings from the site.
You will see that the spike persisted for an approximately two day period as if a Gamma Radiation Source had been slowly exposed over a weeks time, then left completely exposed to the open for two days, then either covered with soil or concrete over an approximately two hour period until the monitor registered ~200,000 nSv as if the primary source had been covered and now only material in the area that was contaminated by the primary source was registering on the monitor. Based on my training in Radioactive Emergencies, and the evidence from the monitoring site, alone suggests a dangerous and unplanned exposure of a major Gamma Source, an evacuation of the area until a plan to mitigate the exposed source could be devised, and then a rapid implementation of the plan to cover the source which took a few hours to accomplish.
Now, a lethal dose (LD/50/30 - lethal dose in over 50% of the population over a 30 day period) of Gamma Radiation is can range from 3.5 Sieverts to 5 Sieverts (3.5 to 5 million nSv). The LD/10-35 (lethal dose in 10% to 35% of the population) which at it's very least will cause very severe nausea, hair loss, and hemorrhaging, is 2.0 to 3.5 Sieverts. Again, the unconfirmed (as far as I can research) reading at the monitoring site is at ~1.5 Sieverts. I hope you can now see the potential here.
All the consequences I listed above are immediate reactions to that level of a dose of Gamma Radiation and do not include long term formations of cancers from radiation poisoning.
If the monitoring site's data holds true and is confirmed, then the death toll from this potential event could be staggering.
Again, I can't confirm that the monitoring site's data is accurate, or of it is some sort of anomaly. The surrounding sites show no increase in background radiation, so there is that leans toward a misread by the monitoring site - however, any potentially exposed source could have been deep, surrounded by berms which would prevent lateral radiation hence protecting the surrounding communities from direct exposure - Gamma is a light ray, not a particle that could be spread by wind or cross contamination on people or vehicles, and would be deflected or absorbed by a properly constructed berm as is required to be placed around Gamma sources during a nuclear plant decommissioning, which could explain the low readings from surrounding communities.
If anyone can find out anything, please post it here.
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