| Surviving on Nuclear Waste
| |
| | Russia. This fund will supplement loans
|
|
| |
| | from international financialinstitutions.
|
| Author of "Malignant Self Love -
| |
| | Yet, according to the BBC, of the twelve
|
| Narcissism Revisited"
| |
| | priorityprojects worth $1.3 billion that
|
| On May 11, 2005, Romania will host a
| |
| | have been agreed - not one concernsatomic
|
| two-day exercise simulating anuclear
| |
| | trash.
|
| accident. It will be conducted at the
| |
| | The NDEP, set up in 1997, is a
|
| Cernavoda nuclearpower plant. But the
| |
| | partnership of the European
|
| real radiological emergency is already at
| |
| | Commission, Russia, the European Regional
|
| handand unfolding.
| |
| | Development Bank, the
|
| Nuclear waste is both an environmental
| |
| | European Investment Bank, the Nordic Bank
|
| problem and an economicsolution in the
| |
| | and the World Bank. But itis predicated
|
| countries of east Europe and central
| |
| | on a crucial document - the Multilateral
|
| Asia.
| |
| | Nuclear
|
| Kazakhstan announced in November 2002
| |
| | Environment Programme in Russia (MNEPR) -
|
| that it plans to import othercountries'
| |
| | which Russia for longevaded signing.
|
| nuclear waste - and get paid for its
| |
| | The sorry state of underfunded efforts to
|
| shoddy disposal-by-burial, contrary to
| |
| | cope with the aftermath ofnuclear power
|
| international conventions.
| |
| | and weaponry and the blatant venality
|
| Ironically, the money thus generated is
| |
| | that oftenaccompanies shady waste deals
|
| earmarked for ridding of
| |
| | provoked a green backlash throughoutthe
|
| Kazakhstan of its own pile of fissionable
| |
| | otherwise docile region. The Guardian
|
| trash. This emulates asimilar scheme
| |
| | quoted courageous Kazakhenvironmental
|
| floated five years ago in Russia. The
| |
| | activists as saying:
|
| Atomic Energy
| |
| | "The same is repeated again and again. It
|
| Ministry planned to import 20,000 tons of
| |
| | is just another money-making venture ...
|
| nuclear waste to earn $21billion in the
| |
| | The World Bank is worried about
|
| process.
| |
| | corruption in
|
| The collapse of the Warsaw Pact left many
| |
| | Kazakhstan. In our current situation
|
| countries in the former
| |
| | there is no guarantee of publicsafety, no
|
| Soviet block with an ageing and
| |
| | system for compensation, no confidence in
|
| prohibitively expensive to
| |
| | the ability ofcustoms to deal with these
|
| maintainnuclear arsenal. Dismantling the
| |
| | cargoes. Everyone has a human right to
|
| war heads - often with American and
| |
| | asafe environment - but apparently not
|
| European Union Euratom funding - yielded
| |
| | here."
|
| mounds of lethalradioactive materials.
| |
| | Similar sentiments are expressed by
|
| Abandoned nuclear test sites - such as
| |
| | groups in Russia, Romania,
|
| the USSR's central facilityin
| |
| | Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Ukraine, the Czech
|
| Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan - contain
| |
| | Republic, Poland andelsewhere. Being
|
| thousands of tons ofradioactive
| |
| | "environmentally correct" is so important
|
| leftovers. Add to this the network of
| |
| | that
|
| decrepit,
| |
| | Tanjug, the Yugoslav news agency, in its
|
| Chernobyl-like, reactors strewn
| |
| | relentless campaign against
|
| throughout the region and theirrefuse and
| |
| | NATO, implausibly accused Germany of
|
| the gargantuan dimensions of the threat
| |
| | storing its waste in the minesof Kosovo.
|
| emerge.
| |
| | A prime example of activism involved a
|
| Take, again, Kazakhstan. According to
| |
| | Russian scientific expeditionwhich found
|
| Mukhtar Dzakishev, thenpresident of
| |
| | a nuclear submarine dumped, with spent
|
| Kazatomprom, the country's national
| |
| | radioactive fuel,in the northern Kara
|
| nuclear agency, thecountry is immersed in
| |
| | Sea. According to news agencies,
|
| 230,000 tons of waste. It would cost
| |
| | quotingenvironmental groups, dumping
|
| morethan $1 billion to clean. The country
| |
| | nuclear waste, hundreds of submarinesand
|
| should earn this amount in asingle year
| |
| | decommissioned nuclear reactors into
|
| of imports of nuclear litter.
| |
| | Arctic waters was commonpractice in the
|
| The going rate in Europe is c. $3-5000
| |
| | Soviet Union.
|
| per 200-liter barrel, only afifth of
| |
| | In late 2002, the governor of the
|
| which is spent on its burial in old mines
| |
| | Murmansk region, bordering on
|
| or speciallyconstructed depositories.
| |
| | Norway, has announced a 6-year cleansing
|
| This translates to a profit of $80-140
| |
| | program of the Kolapeninsula, designed to
|
| percubic meter of uranium buried -
| |
| | assuage the worried Scandinavians. The
|
| compared to less than $10 per cubicmeter
| |
| | Norwegians built a waste recycling
|
| of uranium extracted. The countries of
| |
| | facility in the area, constructeda
|
| east Europe haveentered the fray with
| |
| | special train to ferry the waste away and
|
| relish. In 2001, president Putin
| |
| | invested in renovating astorage dump.
|
| rushedthrough the Duma a much-debated law
| |
| | Many east European countries do not store
|
| that allows for the importationand
| |
| | nuclear waste but servemerely as transit
|
| disposal of nuclear waste.
| |
| | routes. The waste the Kazakhs plan to
|
| Getting rid of nuclear waste and
| |
| | dispose of,for instance, should cross
|
| dismantling nuclear facilities -both
| |
| | Russian territory. Yet, the Russians
|
| military and peacetime - do not come
| |
| | arethe easy part. In 1998, they have
|
| cheap.
| |
| | agreed to continue to store ineast
|
| According to the ELTA news agency,
| |
| | Siberia fission by-products from
|
| Lithuania's decommissioning ofthe
| |
| | Bulgaria's controversial
|
| Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant would
| |
| | Soviet-built Kozloduy nuclear power
|
| require 30 years and shouldcost $90
| |
| | plant. Russia also stores wastefrom
|
| million in 2008 alone. In October 2002,
| |
| | Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and
|
| Russia's Atomic
| |
| | Lithuania. Wastedisposal was part of the
|
| Energy Minister Yevgeny Adamov pegged the
| |
| | standard construction contracts of
|
| cost of a USA-Russianagreement to dispose
| |
| | Sovietreactors abroad.
|
| of 34 tons of weapons-grade plutonium at
| |
| | But getting the waste to Russia often
|
| $750million. Russia plans to resell the
| |
| | requires permission fromother, a lot less
|
| end product, mixed oxide (MOX),to various
| |
| | forthcoming, countries such as Moldova,
|
| countries in Europe and to Japan. MOX can
| |
| | Ukraineand Romania. By the beginning of
|
| be used to fuelspecially-fitted power
| |
| | 2003, according to the Bulgarianreactor's
|
| plants.
| |
| | management, the old storage pits were
|
| The European Commissions, alarmed by
| |
| | exhausted and theplant had to close down.
|
| these developments in itsbackyard,
| |
| | According to the Regional Environmental
|
| announced, according to EUObserver.com,
| |
| | Center, the transitcountries cite
|
| that it "givespriority to geological
| |
| | ill-equipped railways, antiquated
|
| burial of dangerous material as the
| |
| | containers andother environmental
|
| safestdisposal method to date. Member
| |
| | concerns as the reasons for their
|
| states will be required to
| |
| | reluctance. Inreality, they are under
|
| establishnational burial sites for the
| |
| | pressure by the European Union and the
|
| disposal of radioactive waste by 2018.
| |
| | USAto collaborate with waste transport
|
| Research for waste management will also
| |
| | and disposal companies in the
|
| be stepped up."
| |
| | West, such as British Nuclear Fuels
|
| Even private NGO's got into the act. In
| |
| | (BNFL), or Cogema. In thewastelands that
|
| August 2002, Russiareclaimed from the
| |
| | constitute large swathes of the
|
| Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences in
| |
| | post-communistworld, nuclear waste, it
|
| Belgrade,
| |
| | seems, is a growth industry.
|
| Yugoslavia 45 kilograms of highly
| |
| | ========================================
|
| enriched uranium. The Nuclear
| |
| | =====================
|
| Threat Initiative (NTI), a
| |
| | AUTHOR BIO (must be included with the
|
| Washington-based NGO established by Ted
| |
| | article)
|
| Turner of CNN fame and former Senator Sam
| |
| | Sam Vaknin ( ) is the author of
|
| Nunn, was instrumental inarranging the
| |
| | Malignant
|
| air transport of the sensitive substance.
| |
| | Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and
|
| According to
| |
| | After the Rain - How the West
|
| Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the
| |
| | Lost the East. He served as a columnist
|
| Vinca Institute conditioned itssurrender
| |
| | for Central Europe Review,
|
| of the uranium rods on financial aid to
| |
| | PopMatters, Bellaonline, and eBookWeb, a
|
| dispose of 2.5tons of spent nuclear fuel.
| |
| | United Press International
|
| NTI provided the $5 million needed
| |
| | (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and
|
| toaccomplish the cleanup.
| |
| | the editor of mental healthand Central
|
| A donor conference, in the framework of
| |
| | East Europe categories in The Open
|
| the Northern Dimension
| |
| | Directory and
|
| Environmental partnership (NDEP) pledged
| |
| | Suite101.
|
| in November 2002 c. $110million to tackle
| |
| | Until recently, he served as the Economic
|
| environmental and nuclear waste in
| |
| | Advisor to the Governmentof Macedonia.
|
| northwest
| |
| |
|
