Posted on 11/23/2004 7:47:20 AM PST by TaxRelief
A minor incident at the Balakovskaya nuclear power plant created widespread panic in Saratov and nearby regions, with people clearing iodine off drugstore shelves and several being rushed to the hospital with symptoms of iodine poisoning.
Reactor No. 2 at the Balakovskaya nuclear power plant, located outside the city of Balakov in the Saratov region, some 900 km southeast of Moscow, shut down on Thursday [4 Nov 2004] after a pipe burst, but, there was no radiation leak, the Federal Nuclear Power Agency said in a statement on Friday [12 Nov 2004].
However, the incident, which was 1st reported on Friday [5 Nov 2004] morning, sparked a panic, after Saratov radio stations reported the news, along with advice to residents about how to protect themselves from radiation, Gazeta.ru reported. Greenpeace activists then hit the streets in regional cities and towns to distribute leaflets explaining how to protect oneself from a radiation leak.
Some local residents said they saw a white cloud above the plant and did not believe the authorities' assurances, suspecting a cover-up like the one that followed the 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Russian media reported.
"I tell you that there will not be a 2nd Chernobyl. It is not those times anymore when you hide information," Igor Maly, head of the local branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry, said on NTV television.
Sergei Kiriyenko, President Vladimir Putin's envoy to the Volga Federal District, made a quick visit late Friday [5 Nov 2004] to Saratov to try to calm fears. But, rumors spread quickly throughout the day that authorities were trying to hush up the danger and were informally advising schools to let children go home early. Some kindergartens rushed to seal their windows.
Adding to the speculation was the unusual appearance of several generals, and about a dozen government vehicles with black military license plates, Kommersant reported on Saturday [13 Nov 2004]. The officials were there as part of a regularly planned Emergency Situations Ministry exercise.
Worried Saratov residents cleared drugstore shelves of iodine, and more expensive iodine-based medicines such as sea kale and vitamins, RIA-Novosti and the Regnum news agency reported. Some vendors at outdoor markets started selling iodine to panicked customers at 10 rubles [USD 0.35] a drop, the Newsinfo.ru website said. At least 7 people checked into Saratov hospitals with symptoms of iodine poisoning. "The whole city lost their heads," Anna Vinogradova, head of Saratov's department of environmental protection, told Kommersant. "All the telephone lines were busy. People were telling each other to drink vodka, take iodine, and -- no matter what -- not to use public drinking water."
Reports of panic also poured in from the neighboring Tambov, Penza, Ulyanovsk, and Nizhny Novgorod regions, as well as Astrakhan and Rostov, even though the 2 regions do not border Saratov.
The nuclear power plant's reactor was restarted early Saturday [13 Nov 2004] and was running normally, Interfax reported.
Russia has 10 nuclear power plants with a total of 30 nuclear reactors, which are regularly shut down for repairs or due to minor accidents.
Sorry, but I'm not going to pile on Greenpeace this time. There are plenty of people of this very site who talked about use of IK tablets after Tom Ridge advised everybody to "stock up and create a safe room". So will you be so eager to damn Free Republic?
Until I hear Greenpeace lied about something, I don't see them as the problem.
If forced at gunpoint to believe either Greenpeace or Russian Nuclear Authorities, I'd have to believe Greenpeace.
Even if it isn't the fault of Greenpeace they should be thoroughly beaten about the head and shoulders just on general principle. The only French military action of the late 20th century that I thoroughly approved of was their blowing up the (laugh-chuckle-snort) original "Rainbow Warrior".
Which proves that a broken clock is right at least twice a day.
LOL. Good point. We seem to live in a world that we can trust no one. ('Cept God, of course.)
I don't know that it cures radiation, but it sure cuts down on the paranoia.
Here's a blast from the past.
Agreed. Greenpeace reacted to a situation they had very little information on, and Russians (used to years of government lies) tried to take matters into their own hands. It might even be a credit to Greenpeace that they were these fast enough to give out information like this, but I wouldn't go that far.
Their normal flyer does not give dosages. It just tells people about the exaggerated dangers of nuclear power.
http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/campaigns/intro?campaign_id=4026
Greenpeace defends itself here:
http://www.greenpeace.org/russia_en/news/details?item_id=656880
"23 November 2004, Moscow. Today Greenpeace Russia together with 22 other Russian organizations submitted two petitions to the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation proving that a recent incident at the Balakovo NPP is the result of nonfeasance of nuclear authorities.
"Non-governmental organizations have requested an investigation about violations and elements of crime in actions of officials who hadn't provided the population of the Saratov, Ulyanovsk, Penza and other regions with timely and reliable information about the incident at the Balakovo NPP at night of 3-4th of November 2004." (excerpt)
Indeed. If you have read anything about the situation in Belarus where water and food even today is contaminated and people are dying of cancer at alarming rates, you can understand why these citizens didn't believe their government's assurances.
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