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A nuclear accident in Russia has been blamed for sending a radioactive cloud over Europe, French authorities have revealed.

The radioactive pollution was noticed by European authorities from the end of September to mid-October.

Levels of ruthenium 106, which comes from the nuclear industry, were found in France and other European countries between September 27 and October 13.

French nuclear safety institute IRSN said the unusual cloud is likely to have come after a nuclear incident, due to the sudden and high levels of the chemical element.

This map shows the probable origin of the cloud

It ruled out an accident in a nuclear reactor, saying it was likely to be in a nuclear fuel treatment site or centre for radioactive medicine.

There has been no impact on human health or the environment in Europe, the IRSN said.

IRSN, the technical arm of French nuclear regulator ASN, said it could not pinpoint the location of the release of radioactive material but that based on weather patterns, the most plausible zone lay south of the Ural mountains, between the Urals and the Volga river.

This could indicate Russia or possibly Kazakhstan, an IRSN official said.

However, Russian authorities contacted by the IRSN said that they are not aware of an accident on their territory, the Mirror reports.

It is not known if the Kazakh authorities have more information on this.

IRSN estimates that the quantity of ruthenium 106 released was major, between 100 and 300 teraBecquerels, and that if an accident of this magnitude had happened in France it would have required the evacuation or sheltering of people in a radius of a few kilometers around the accident site.

It is thought the ruthenium 106 was released in a nuclear fuel treatment site or center for radioactive medicine.