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Radiation and biohazard specialists have removed over 1,600 radiation-emitting items and 200 cubic meters of radioactive soil from a field hockey arena construction site in Khabarovsk, a press statement from the regional Department for Emergency Situations said on Monday.

At the beginning of November a radioactive background of 33 micro-roentgens per hour was detected at the site, formerly a military depot, exceeding the norm by 5 micro-roentgens per hour.

The emitting sources were found to be the fragments and remains of phosphor-covered aviation devices, which had stayed buried at the site 30 centimeters below ground level for over 15 years, the metal having decayed but the phosphor coat remaining.

The radioactive items and soil have been sent by the specialists to facilities for proper disposal.

According to the statement, the half-life of the radioactive element coating the devices is 1,600 years. In the 1970s, it was prohibited and taken out of production.

The construction of the field hockey arena was started in early October, the project being the first of its kind in the Russian Far East, the statement said.