Russian fires threaten to stir Chernobyl radiation

Environmentalists and forest experts warned that the radioactive dust could be harmful, even though doses would likely be small."The danger is still there," Vladimir Chuprov of Russian Greenpeace told The Associated Press.

The Emergency Situations Ministry said at least six wildfires were spotted and extinguished this week in the Bryansk region, the part of Russia that suffered the most when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant's reactor No 4 exploded during a pre-dawn test on April 26, 1986, spewing radioactive clouds over much of western Soviet Union and northern Europe.
The ministry also had reported sporadic wildfires last week, but said all were put out.
Radiation experts from Moscow determined there has been no increase in radiation levels in the Bryansk area, on the border of Belarus and Ukraine, ministry spokeswoman Irina Yegorushkina said on Wednesday.

The forest floor holds radioactive particles that settled after the Chernobyl disaster, which environmentalists warned could be thrown into the air by the fires raging across western and central Russia. The particles could then be blown into other areas by the wind, they said.