Russia Urges Villagers to Leave Radioactive Blast Site
https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-urges-villagers-to-leave-radioactive-blast-site-11565726537Aug. 13, 2019
Authorities urged residents of a village in Northwestern Russia to leave their homes, days after a nearby Defense Ministry test of a nuclear-powered engine exploded, boosting radiation levels that alarmed nearby inhabitants.
Russian officials’ failure to release full details surrounding the explosion, which killed at least seven employees of Rosatom, Russia’s atomic energy monopoly, and of the Defense Ministry, have raised suspicions over the severity of the accident and whether officials are covering up details.
In a series of statements Tuesday that were as contradictory as previous ones surrounding the explosion, the local government urged several hundred residents of Nyonoksa, where the Defense Ministry testing site is located, to leave their homes on Wednesday morning. The statements didn’t provide details on why they were being asked to leave nor where they should go.
A municipal spokeswoman said the evacuation was due to an unspecified “event†at the test site nearby planned for Wednesday, according to Russian news agencies, but she gave no further details. Hours later authorities said the Wednesday event was cancelled but didn’t address whether the evacuation was still planned. The spokeswoman’s office didn’t return calls for comment.
With a lack of reliable information coming from local officials, residents of the region have taken to online community boards to ask questions and seek clarity. Meanwhile, the mayor of Severodvinsk, the largest nearby city, went on vacation, according to local reports....