Russia to Build Disposal Facility for Soviet-Era Nuclear Waste

November 22, 2013 JRL Russia List Environment, Military, Nuclear, Missile Defense, Oil, Gas, Energy

MOSCOW, November 22 (RIA Novosti) A spokesman for Russia’s state nuclear corporation said Friday that a facility for the disposal of Soviet-era radioactive waste is to be built in the country’s Far East.

Officials said they made the announcement to quell media speculation that a site was being set aside for the dumping of nuclear waste from abroad. Those rumors appear to have been provoked by a notice posted on the government procurement website earlier this week calling for offers to build the plant.

A Rosatom corporation spokesman said the plant will collect and later process radioactive waste from outdated Soviet-era facilities scattered around the region.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2015.

The plant will also be used to remove radioactive elements from decommissioned nuclear ships and submarines.

The waste will be properly packed and sent for further disposal in other Russian regions, Rosatom said.

The corporation’s spokesman said this approach to handling the country’s nuclear legacy would enable authorities to clear up potentially perilous waste disposal sites resulting from lax standards in Soviet times.

Rosatom stressed that there were no plans to process nuclear waste from other countries in the Far East.