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Panic over Exercise at Ukrainian Nuke Plant
Panic broke out in Krasnodar Territory and Rostov Region last weekend due to rumors of accidents at the Zaporozhye and Volgodonskaya atomic energy plants. In spite of assurances on radio and television from Emergencies Ministry spokesmen, people bought up iodine in pharmacies, stores were closed, people headed out of the area and the volume of cellular phone calls overloaded the operator.
A report of an accident at the Zaporozhye atomic plant on the border with the Russian Kuban area was the source of the confusion. The plant was, in reality, hosting a scheduled Ukrainian Emergencies Ministry exercised. Head of the regional center of the Russian Emergencies Ministry Oleg Grekov stated that “There were no incidents related to violations of radiation safety in Rostov Region.” Announcements refuting rumors of accidents were made in the local broadcast media. The Volgodonskaya atomic plant is closed from April 17 to June 15 for scheduled maintenance and also poses no threat to the local population.
On May 20 of last year, residents of Rostov-on-Don were alarmed by rumors of a “mercury cloud” descending on the city. Like this year, official denials of the rumor had little effect. That rumor began when the Donetsk radio station Valentina mistook a Ukrainian Emergencies Ministry exercise at a chemical plant for an accident and reported it on the news.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of May 21, 2007
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