Head of Fire Service: Radiation situation in Bulgaria is within norms

The Head of the Directorate “Fire Safety and Population Protection”, Chief Commissioner Nikolai Nikolov and Prof. Hristomir Brunzov, the head of the department for weather forecasting (National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology) gave an extraordinary briefing at the Council of Ministers late in the evening on April 20.

The reason was a number of rumours in the social networks about a possible danger looming over Bulgaria in connection with a fire in Ukraine in the area of Chernobyl nuclear power station which had been burning for a week, and rumours that because of the changing weather - northeast wind and precipitation - that it would endanger the health of the people in Bulgaria, said the chief of the National Coronavirus Task Force, Major-General. Prof. Dr. Ventsislav Mutafchiyski.

Every day we monitor the radiation situation and it is currently within the normal range, announced Chief Commissioner Nikolai Nikolov.

He said the fire in Ukraine has already been extinguished.

Chief Commissioner Nikolai Nikolov: The values of the radiation gamma background, measured by the national automated monitoring system and the radiation monitoring and alert posts, are within the country's normal limits. Namely - 0.08 to 0.40 microSieverts per hour.

Radiation monitoring posts are located throughout the country - 29 stations. They include dozens more points.

We are monitoring the situation and we are in touch with our colleagues from Moldova, Ukraine and Romania, he said.

Chief Commissioner Nikolai Nikolov: There is no danger at the moment.

Prof. Hristomir Brunzov stated that the air transfer is from Ukraine to Bulgaria, but the system shows that there will be no changes in the natural radiation background. What will come with the air masses is so small that it cannot be accounted for, he said.

Source: BNT