Original article (in Serbian) was published on 02/03/2022
The reader of FN Tragac contacted us with a request to determine the truth of the claims found in a chain message she received on several occasions via Viber. The suspicious message suggests that one should avoid going out because “radiation is increasing”. However, according to the latest published report of the Directorate for Radiation and Nuclear Safety and Security of Serbia, “there has been no increase in the gamma radiation dose rate on the territory of our country”.
“Avoid going outside. Radiation is increasing. Last night in NS, it was 0.13 microsievert/h. Today it is 0.18. They screwed up at Chernobyl and released radiation again. It was 0.50 in Kyiv last night. Today who knows how many. BG is around 0.15 today. The atomic bomb is around 0.12”, claims the message that the reader reported to us.
Is the level of radiation in Serbia worrying?
According to the latest report of the Directorate for Radiation and Nuclear Safety and Security of Serbia (SRBATOM) published today – there is no reason to worry. This government’s body announced that “the measured values of the gamma radiation dose rate in the Republic of Serbia are in accordance with the variations of natural radiation and correspond to the location of the measuring instrument and the expected seasonal fluctuations”.
This was confirmed to us by Istvan Bikit, a full professor at the Department of Nuclear Physics at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Novi Sad. He told FN Tragac that “all these are normal radiation levels, nothing increased, with the usual variations”.
Although the chain message from Viber claims that at one point “in NS” the radiation level was measured at 0.18 microsieverts per hour, SRBATOM states in its report that “average values of ambient equivalent gamma radiation dose for Serbia are in interval of 100-150 nSv/h (nanosieverts per hour)”, i,e., “0.10 to 0.15 µSv/h (microsieverts per hour)”.
The same report by SRBATOM states that “in the past 24 hours, there has been no increase in the gamma radiation dose rate on the territory of Europe, including the territory of Ukraine”. On March 1, the website of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine announced that “there are no violations of the borders and conditions for the safe operation of nuclear power plants”, as well as that “the radioactive situation meets established norms” and that “physical protection systems work normally”.
An urgent press release from a few days ago can be found on the SRBATOM’s website, stating that “there is no reason for citizens’ concern” and that data from measuring stations in Serbia, as well as relevant institutions in Europe, show that no increase in strength of gamma radiation has been recorded on the territory of our country as well as on the territory of Europe”. The institution also announced that on a daily basis, it will publish “only relevant information related to gamma radiation dose levels on the territory of our country and Europe”.