Romanian authorities deny reports on radioactive cloud

Romanian authorities said on Sunday that there are no data to confirm or indicate the existence of radiological risk factors for people in the country or for the environment that will require response measures.

In a joint press statement, the General Emergency Inspectorate, the National Board on Nuclear Activity Oversight and the National Environmental Protection Agency said that "the measurements on Romania's soil since August 8 indicate that currently in Romania there is no change in nature in terms of the radioactivity of the environment."

The statement came after public reports on the possible presence of a radioactive cloud over Romania after a deadly explosion in Russia's northwestern Arkhangelsk region on Aug. 8, during tests of a new rocket at a nuclear weapons test center near the small town of Nyonoksa.

There is no imminent radiological danger to the population or the environment, said the statement, adding that no changes in the level of radioactivity of the environment have been reported internationally either.