FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top politics stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Germany’s Office for Radiation Protection reported increased radioactivity in parts of Central and Western Europe last week. The increased levels were detected across six locations in Germany and several others across Europe including Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. The Office for Radiation Protection said it could not be an accident at a nuclear power plant.

GETTY Germany’s Office for Radiation Protection reported increased radioactivity

They added: “New analyses on the source of the radioactive substance ruthenium-106 suggest a release in eastern Europe, at a distance of more than 620 miles from Germany. “New analyses of the source of the radioactive material are likely to indicate a release in the southern Ural. “But other regions in Southern Russia cannot be excluded.”

Incredible photos show moment Russia used a nuclear bomb to create a reservoir Thu, September 21, 2017 The stills taken from video footage show the bomb going off as a huge dark mushroom cloud fills the sky as it leaves behind a large crater. The crater acts as a dam to the existing river while a channel is cut into the crater to allow the reservoir behind it to fill up with water. The clip showcases the January 1965 at Chagan, on the edge of the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan Play slideshow SPL / mediadrumworld.com 1 of 10 Moment bomb goes off

The particles are ruthenium-106 which is an isotope used in cancer treatment for eye tumours and also radioisotope thermoelectric generators which power satellites. The elevated levels do not present a threat to human health and officials say there is no need to panic. A spike in radiation was also reported in February this year, many believe it could have been Russia conducting secret nuclear testing.

Chernobyl disaster: Haunting images of Chernobyl's no-go zone Sat, November 18, 2017 Inside Chernobyl's no-go zone abandoned after the radiation blast that killed 31 people. Play slideshow Caters 1 of 17 A child's bedroom is a desolate scene in Chernobyl

An increase in the radioactive Iodine-131 was first detected over the Russia-Norway border in January, but that spike has since made its way across Europe. The increase was then noticed in Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, France and Spain but authorities decided to keep the information private as they believed it “had no news value”, according to the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA).

GETTY The elevated levels do not present a threat to human health

France’s nuclear safety authority the IRSN added that the spike of Iodine-131 raised "no health concerns” and the levels have since gone back to normal. Theories have begun to circulate that Russia is testing nuclear weapons in the Arctic circle as Iodine-131 is a radioisotope found in the atomic bombs tested by the US and Russia in the early days of the Cold War.

GETTY The radiation is sometimes used to power satellites