Russia’s Ministry of Atomic Energy announced yesterday that it would like to import and reprocess 20,000 tons of nuclear waste, a proposal that could bring in some $21 billion over 10 years and help boost the nation’s economy. The ministry anticipates that most of the waste would be spent fuel rods from civilian nuclear power plants in Europe and Asia. Russia’s parliament would have to change a law forbidding such imports before the plan could go forward. Both Russian and foreign environmental groups object to the plan, saying Russia already has plenty of nuclear waste from domestic sources. “This is an extremely dangerous and cynical deal to generate billions of dollars which will add to the enormous environmental problems that already exist in Russia,” said Tobias Muenchmeyer of Greenpeace.
