Russia fires pose nuclear threat, death toll hits 50

* Death toll rises to 50 from forest fires

* Emergencies Ministry warns of nuclear threat

By Amie Ferris-Rotman

MOSCOW, Aug 5 (Reuters) – The Russian government warned on Thursday that the country’s deadliest wildfires in nearly four decades posed a nuclear threat if they are not contained, as the death toll rose to 50 and the blazes continued to spread.

The worst heatwave in more than a century is set to intensify on Friday, with record temperatures of 40 celsius (104 fahrenheit) expected and to continue into the next week, weather forecasters said.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced a ban on exports of grain and grain products from Aug. 15 until December, and his spokesman said it would apply also to contracts already signed.

Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu said heat from fires in the Bryansk region, which already has nuclear contamination from the Chernobyl disaster more than 20 years ago, could release harmful radioactive particles into the atmosphere.

“In the event of a fire there, radionuclides could rise (into the air) together with combustion particles, resulting in a new pollution zone,” he said on state television, without going into detail.

Shoigu added two fires had already broken out in the Bryansk region, some 400 km (250 miles) southwest of Moscow, but they were quickly contained