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Second expedition to monitor radiation background in RF Far East

The expedition involves 15 specialists of the Roshydromet
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

VLADIVOSTOK, August 15 (Itar-Tass) — The second, monthlong, comprehensive multi-purpose expedition to monitor the radiation situation on the coast of Russia's Far East is to set out from Vladivostok aboad the research vessel Professor Shokalsky on August 17.

The expedition involves 15 specialists of the Roshydromet (Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring), Rospotrebnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Consumers Protection and Welfare), Rosatom (Federal Agency for Nuclear Power), and the Emergencies Ministry, an official in the press service of the Primorsky (maritime) Teritory hydrometeocenter told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

The specialists will study radioactive contamination of the air and sea environement, including bottom-set deposits, estimate possible aftermath of the impact of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami on the pollution of the marine environment and on engineering installations in the region, and outline possible hazards to the population. It is also planned to measure the spectrum of gamma-ray radiation, and sample fresh water, soil, and vegetation on the Urup and Paramushir Islands.

This is a second monitoring expedition conducted jointly by the Russian Geographical Society and the Roshydromet since the breakdown at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power station in March last year. The first expediton was mounted in April-May 2011. It did not reveal any substantal deviations in the radiation background in the collected samples of water, air, and bottom-set deposits or in marine animal.