Blast at Russian missile testing site: State weather agency finds radioactive isotopes in test samples taken after explosion

Moscow: Russia’s state weather agency said on Monday it had found the radioactive isotopes of strontium, barium and lanthanum in test samples after a mysterious accident during a test at a military site earlier this month.The deadly accident on 8 August caused a brief rise in radiation levels in the nearby city of Severodvinsk. President Vladimir Putin later said the mishap occurred during testing of what he called promising new weapons systems.[caption id="attachment_6846621" align="alignleft" width="380"] File image of Russian president Vladimir Putin. AP[/caption]A cloud of inert radioactive gases formed as a result of a decay of the isotopes and caused the brief spike in radiation in Severodvinsk, the weather agency said in a statement.The isotopes were Strontium-91, Barium-139, Barium-140 and Lanthanum-140, which have half-lives of 9.3 hours, 83 minutes, 12.8 days and 40 hours respectively, it said.Russia’s state nuclear agency has said five of its staff members were killed and three injured in a blast during a rocket test on a sea platform that involved “isotope power sources”.US-based nuclear experts suspect the incident occurred during tests of a nuclear-powered cruise missile.Norway’s nuclear test-ban monitor said on Friday that the explosion that killed the scientists was followed by a second blast two hours later and that this was the likely source of a spike in radiation.The second explosion was probably from an airborne rocket powered by radioactive fuel, the Norsar agency said — though the governor of Russia’s Arkhangelsk region, where the blast took place, dismissed reports of another blast.