nuclear reactor

In a November 9 statement, IRSN( Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire) ruled out an accident in a nuclear reactor, saying it was a likely leak in a nuclear fuel-treatment site or center for radioactive medicine.In recent weeks, IRSN and several other nuclear safety institutes in Europe had measured high levels of ruthenium 106, a radioactive nuclide which does not occur naturally and is the product of splitting atoms in a nuclear reactor. There has been no impact on human health or the environment in Europe, said IRSN, the technical arm of the French nuclear regulator ASN. The IRSN statement said it could not accurately locate the release of radioactive material but, based on weather patterns, it most likely originated south of the Ural Mountains, between the Urals and the Volga River. This could indicate Russia or possibly Kazakhstan as the site of the origin of the cloud.