Russia – Threat under Moscow

There is a possible radioactive threat to Moscow in the form of a ticking bomb under the Russian capital, writes Finnish Iltalethi.

The experts’ fear is not about a nuclear attack, but about the million city’s underground pipelines.

According to the Moscow Times, the authorities in the capital plan to start new construction projects in the Schukino district in the northwest of the city.

Business premises, residential buildings, a school and a nursery are planned.

The problem is that under the planned buildings there are pipelines carrying nuclear waste.

– Huge mix

Now both residents and experts fear that extensive construction work could damage the pipeline, so that radioactive waste is released into the environment.

– The inner surface of the old pipes has a centimeter-thick deposit of radioactive salts. It is a huge mixture of several different radioisotopes, says nuclear physicist Andrej Ožarovskij and adds:

– If a pipe is damaged, it can lead to a leak that causes local pollution.

According to the Moscow Times, in the 1940s the Schukino district was the cradle of the nuclear industry in Russia.

The research carried out in the area was central to the development of the then Soviet Union’s first atomic bomb.

Among other things, the Kurchatov Institute, which is known as Russia’s leading research and development institution for nuclear energy, has over the decades produced a large amount of nuclear waste.

The nuclear waste has been transported to a treatment facility in Moscow through the pipelines for which concerns have now been raised.

“Cemetery”

According to Ožarovskij, the Russian authorities are hiding a large part of the activities in the area, and there is therefore no accurate information about the amount of radioactive material or the damage potential of a possible accident.

The expert believes that the worst-case scenario will involve nuclear waste leaking from the pipes in liquid form into the ground and eventually ending up in the Moskva River.

– That would cause a radioactive, contaminated area that would have to be isolated, he says.

Ožarovskij is not alone in his concerns.

According to the Moscow Times, Vladimir Mordašov, a leading expert at the Kurtshatov Institute, warned about the same earlier in April.

The first plan is to demolish a large garage in the area, which, according to Mordašov, is a “cemetery for long-lived radioactive nuclear waste”.

– The radiation levels there are so high that it is not safe to build anything there. The only option for this area is to fill the entire site with soil and vegetation, he told the Moscow City Council.

Politicians at federal level also see a danger in the situation.

Denis Parfenov, who is active in the State Duma, claims that Moscow’s local authorities put the interests of the construction industry ahead of the interests of local residents.

Corruption suspicions

The Moscow Times points out that during the era of Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, Moscow has poured enormous amounts of money into various construction projects.

This has raised criticism and suspicions of possible corruption. Moscow’s local authorities did not respond to the Moscow Times’ request for comment.

Ožarovskij fears that the authorities will sweep the whole matter under the carpet, which will only increase the risk of accidents.

– There is radioactive waste there. This can lead to problems both now and in the future.