Things that make you say Hmmm... "Rosatom says no fire threat to Federal Nuclear Center"

That was the headline, yesterday, at The Voice of Russia. Here's a snip:

Russian Federal Nuclear Energy Agency (Rosatom) is doing its best to protect the Federal Nuclear Center in the Nizhni Novgrord region from forest fires.

In an interview with the Moscow Echo radio station Rosatom's official Sergei Novikov said that for the moment there is no fire threat to the center.  

The fire fight is now on within the industrial zone and hot spots are being localized, he said....

This morning's story at Foreign Policy's Passport blog seems to carry a bit more urgency:

 Wildfires threaten Russian nuclear labs

Russia's nuclear chief admitted today that the deadly summer wildfires ravaging the country have forced his agency to pack up and remove "all explosive and radioactive material" from a top-secret research lab east of Moscow:

"I can guarantee that even in an extreme situation with squalling winds there is no danger to nuclear security, no threat of radiation, explosions, or environmental consequences," he added.

Gosh, why would anyone think so? 

I have an ongoing interest in the Russian nuclear program:

Russia Looking For Miss Nuclear Reactor 2009

From Nuclear Street:

Russia launches online beauty pageant to find miss nuclear reactor 2009

The ANI reports that in this age of green power and greener pastures, improving the image of the nuclear power industry is imperative. Consequently, Russia has come up with unique scheme an online beauty pageant!

A beauty contest has been launched in Russia to find the new Miss nuclear reactor 2009. In all, there are 200 contestants who are in some way connected to the nuclear power business, reports The Sun. With the help of the pageant, organisers are trying to prove that women who work within the industry have beauty as well as brains.
Contestants complain that people assume they have been mutated in some way by radiation. Organizers though say that this proves that more awareness of nuclear power needs to be raised in Russia. (ANI)

Here's the Miss Atom homepage. ( Участницы, for the rest of the contestants)
Danger Room says:

Miss Atom 2009: We Have a Winner

By Nathan HodgeMarch 09, 2009 | 2:20:00 AMCategories: Crazy Ivans, Nukes

The results are in: Yekaterina Bulgakova, a sporty 25-year-old, snared first place in Miss Atom 2009, the annual beauty contest for the Russian nuclear industry. She wins a weeklong holiday in the socialist paradise of Cuba. 

We mentioned the 2007 contest in "Russia: What a Scam We Have in Carbon":

...On the other hand Russia's nuclear program intrigues me...

 
Vinte anos depois de Chernobyl, a Rússia nos traz a Miss Átomo. No concurso de beleza as candidatas devem trabalhar em instalações Rosatom, entidades de energia nuclear da antiga URSS, institutos de pesquisa ou serem estudantes de instituições educacionais nucleares. E, com três anos de idade quando a usina soviética explodiu, a Miss Átomo 2007 é a bela Yelena Kamenskaya.