There will be no radioactivity hazard to health in the Russian Far East even if the Japanese nuclear accident takes a turn for the worst, deputy head of the Far Eastern regional center of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry Igor Demchishin told reporters on Tuesday.

A dose meter installed on the center’s facade showed 10 micro-Roentgens per hour, while the maximum permissible norm was thrice larger.

“We know that someone is spreading the rumor of the allegedly excessive radiation level in the Primorye territory, but that is wrong. The radiation level does not exceed 14 micro-Roentgens there,” Demchishin said.

The radiation level in Russia’s Primorye territory does not exceed the norm, a source at the territorial emergency situations department told Itar-Tass earlier in the day.

Radiation monitoring is constant, he said. “The radiation level on the Primorye territory is being watched closely by the territorial department of the Federal Hydro-Meteorological Service and the Federal Consumer Rights and Human Well Being Service. They collect data and transfer it to the territorial crisis management center of the Emergency Situations Ministry. There is interaction with territorial agencies of the two federal services and other agencies and ministries,” he said.

“There is no threat to health or life of local residents,” the source added.