Health officials insist that radioactive tiles on Independence Square are safe
The European Radio for Belarus reported on November 1 that the sidewalk tiles on the Independence Square in Minsk have a radiation level two times higher than normal. Those tiles should be categorically banned from being used on the territory of the city. Despite the fact that officials learned about it as far as back in May, the dangerous tiles have continued to “beautify” the city center up to now.
The Institute for Energy and Nuclear Research wrote in their May report that “the effective power of gamma-radiation exceeds the normal levels at two time. This is inadmissible for urban planning and construction”.
Igar Alsheuski of the Minsk Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology would not dispute the statement of the experts from the Institute for Energy and Nuclear Research. He says their report is correct, but insists radioactive radiation on the square is not dangerous.
“Those conclusions are now under study. I cannot say anything against those conclusions. But, according to our calculations, those doses cannot do any harm to public health. Moreover, we based our calculations on the assumption that a person stays on the square for eight hours every day”, he said.
Meanwhile, the results of the repeated tests made on the tiles by the specialists of the center remain unknown to the public.
“The granite tiles used to pave the Independence Square pose no threat to public health. There are certain nuances, but specialists are looking into them,” Alsheuski said.
He would not elaborate on what exactly those nuances are all about. At the same time, he dismissed complaints from the workers at the Stalitsa trade center about health problems caused by high radiation levels. Alsheuski said that even radiation from the space could not reach them, not just the tiles above. The European Radio for Belarus’s tests confirmed that the level of radiation in the underground trade center did not go beyond 17 micro roentgens per hour.
The tiles on the square are unlikely to be replaced. According to Aleg Alsheuski, if there were a need for that, the square would have been sealed off long time ago and excavators would be working there.
It is interesting that the specialists from the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology rush to reassure everyone, while admitting that they have not completed all the lab tests and have not “processed all the conclusions”. The fact that Prosecutor General’s Office is probing the “tile case” adds intrigue to this matter.
Mikhail Vavula, Prosecutor General’s spokesman told the European Radio for Belarus that the documents submitted by the Interior Ministry’s economic crime and corruption task force are under study. It is yet to be confirmed whether a criminal case will be opened into this matter. Vavula also declined to elaborate why police were conducting their investigation associated with the tiles: radioactive hazard or embezzlement.
Depending on what investigators are to come up with, we will know whether excavators will arrive at the country’s main square.
