Global network’s nuclear sensors in Russia went offline after suspected Skyfall missile blast, raising suspicions of tampering
- Two locations closest to site stopped transmitting after fatal explosion, soon followed by two more
- Russia says it’s not obliged to share radiation levels data
The radioactive-particle sensors of at least one of the stations in Russia that went offline after a mysterious blast in the country’s far north are transmitting again, the operator of the global network to which they belong said on Tuesday.
Four of the stations that scan for so-called radionuclide particles wafting through the air for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) went silent in the days after the August 8 explosion, which occurred during a rocket engine test.
That fuelled suspicions among nuclear analysts that Russia tampered with the stations, since it operates them.
The blast killed five employees of Russia’s nuclear agency Rosatom but Moscow has not explained why the incident caused a spike in radiation levels in a nearby city.
A tweet from US President Donald Trump appeared to confirm speculation in Russian media that the incident involved the SSC-X-9 Skyfall, known in Russia as the Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered cruise missile that Putin introduced to the world during his state-of-the-nation address last year.
The mysterious accident has even raised comparisons to the 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
US-based nuclear experts suspect Russia was testing a nuclear-powered cruise missile.
“RN stations RUP 56 (Peleduy) and RUP 57 (Bilibino) have resumed operations in #Russia & are currently backfilling data,” CTBTO chief Lassina Zerbo said on Twitter, using an abbreviation for radionuclide.
He added that there had been “excellent cooperation & support from our Russian station operators”.
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Bilibino is one of the four stations that the Vienna-based CTBTO said on Monday had gone offline in the days after the explosion, though it is in Russia’s far east, a long way from the site of the accident. Peleduy had not previously been mentioned in relation to the blackouts.
The CTBTO did not immediately respond to a request for an update on the status of its Russian stations.
The CTBTO’s website lists seven radionuclide stations in operation in Russia, with another under construction. The two closest to the blast site went offline two days after the explosion, just before any particles from the blast are likely to have reached them, according to a simulation Zerbo posted.
Russian officials said the stations that went offline were having “communication and network issues”, according to the CTBTO.
On Tuesday Russian news agency Interfax quoted Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying his country’s transmission of data from radionuclide stations to the CTBTO was voluntary and that the August 8 accident was not a matter for the CTBTO anyway.
“It’s essential to keep in mind that handing over data from our national stations which are part of the international monitoring system is entirely voluntary for any country,” Interfax cited Ryabkov as saying.
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The Russian sensors are part of the CTBTO’s International Monitoring System, which comprises more than 300 seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide stations dotted around the globe that together are aimed at detecting and locating a nuclear test anywhere.
Separately, the Kremlin said there was nothing to worry about and that it was confident that government agencies in charge of the relevant radiation monitoring stations had been doing their job correctly.
President Vladimir Putin said on Monday there was no risk of increased radiation levels, but that all necessary safety measures were being taken.
The Defence Ministry, which oversees the work of the monitoring stations, had not responded to a Reuters request for comment.
Additional reporting by Associated Press and Bloomberg
