I have been blogging about Russian nuclear waste issues recently. For decades, European countries routinely shipped waste to Russia for disposal in blatant disregard for Russian Law. Their handling of internal nuclear waste and foreign wastes have resulted in contamination of thousands of square miles, disruption in the lives of hundreds of thousands of citizens and damage to the health of thousands. Some of the most radioactively contaminated places on the face of the Earth are in Russia. Now the Russian government is making importation of nuclear waste legal.
In 2008, Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency or Rosatom called for a new legal framework for the management of nuclear wastes. Various proposals were put forward. In 2010, there were meetings to discuss propose changes to the Russian law on disposal of nuclear waste. Public organizations were ignored if they opposed the new version of the law and environmental organizations were not even invited to the meetings. The new law proposes:
1) Allowing the injection of liquid nuclear waste into the ground. This is obviously a serious threat to the ground water as any wells in the area of injection may be contaminated.
2) Ignoring the input of local inhabitants of areas where waste repositories are located.
3) Making the Russian tax payers responsible for the disposal of nuclear waste generated before and after the law is passed.
4) Abolishing property taxes on all existing and future repositories for nuclear waste.
5) Making the law apply to all entities present and future who handle nuclear wastes.
6) Making it legal for foreign companies and governments to ship nuclear waste to Russia for disposal.
The Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency or Rosatom is calling for adoption of the new laws. Rosatom is a state owned company for dealing with nuclear power and nuclear waste. The Russian government is in financial difficulty and many of the changes to the law will bring in more revenue or reduce the government cost of dealing with nuclear waste.
In mid-2011, the new law on radioactive waste management was signed by the Russian President. It “brings Russia's national radioactive waste management system into line with the requirements of the Joint Convention on the Safe Management of Spent Nuclear Fuel and on the Safe Management of Radioactive Waste, which Russia ratified in 2006.” The proposed allowance for injecting liquid nuclear wastes into the ground was removed from the final version of the law. Further legal changes are being considered with respect to the disposal of high-level nuclear waste.
This all sounds very good but given the abysmal track record of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation with respect to nuclear waste, I have little hope that the law will be respected. After all, previous laws with respect to radioactive waste disposal in Russia have been blatantly disregarded by Russian companies and Russian government agencies. Russia seems intent on becoming a major exporter of nuclear technology and a major importer of nuclear waste. The concerns and well-being of the Russian citizens are being ignored by powerful interests in the Russian nuclear industry.
Rosatom logo:
