MOSCOW. Nov 22 (Interfax) - The Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) is stepping up radiation monitoring in the Far East due to the increased radiation levels in the South China Sea, the agency said in a statement on Friday.
"According to the information coming from the Global Environment Monitoring System (GEMS), radiation levels have increased in the South China Sea in connection with a radiation incident. Rospotrebnadzor has stepped up radiation monitoring in the adjacent border areas," the statement said.
"There is no threat of a negative impact on the Russian population" at the moment, it said.
Rospotrebnadzor underlined that it continued to monitor the situation.
The agency did not say exactly what "radiation incident" it was.
The uRADMonitor Global Environmental Monitoring Network, to which Rospotrebnadzor referred, unites civil activists all over the world. Since November 21, the network's interactive map has been showing a significant increase in radiation levels (to 0.22-0.24 microsievert per hour) in the vicinity of Zhanjiang, China.
Zhanjiang is a large port of the South China Sea known for its chemical, food, and machine building enterprises.
According to the Hal Turner Radio Show aired by the U.S. radio stations WBCQ (Michigan) and KYAH, an explosion with a force of 10-20 kilotonnes occurred at a depth of 50 meters in the South China Sea. Military sources said it was not an earthquake.
The radio show said that U.S. submarines stationed in that area continued to operate as usual.
It said that information about details of the possible incident was scarce.