Moscow - A higher-than-normal level of gamma-radiation was discovered in the engine room of a vessel sailing under a Panamanian flag at the Vanino marine checkpoint in the Khabarovsk territory on March 23, Russian consumer protection watchdog Rospotrebnadzor head Gennady Onishchenko said.
The vessel had delivered timber from Russia to the Japanese port of Kawasaki and was passing not far from the accident-stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant on its way back, Onishchenko said.
"The gamma levels on the deck and in the cabins were normal but those in the engine room three times higher than normal. Preliminary findings indicate that this could have been because of a fan pumping air into the engine room," he said.
"The vessel has been put on quarantine anchorage. Nineteen crewmembers, including 18 citizens of Russia and one citizen of Ukraine, have been put under medical supervision. No changes in their health status have been found," Onishchenko said.
Radiation levels in all regions of Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District are normal, he said.
Rospotrebnadzor specialists checked 895 shipments of cargo from Japan weighing 410 tonnes at the Korsakov port. "Thirteen of these shipments weighing 5.9 tonnes are food products, including chocolate, soups, refreshment drinks, chewing gum, and green tea. We have also examined samples of fish in Kamchatka," Onishchenko said.
