Putin Likely to Sign Nuclear Waste Import BillsRussian President Vladimir Putin is likely to sign into law within two weeks the bills allowing import of used nuclear fuel, Russian Nuclear Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev said Tuesday.A commission may be set up to consider every contract for the import of used fuel elements, he told a news conference. Rumyantsev said the country now has a capacity to store 4,000 tons of used nuclear fuel. With 250 to 300 million U.S. dollars invested in this project, the capacity can be increased to 9,000 tons. There is a total of 200,000 tons of used nuclear fuel in the world, Rumyantsev said, adding that Russia hopes to import around 20,000 tons over 10 years. For that, Russia is expected to receive more than 20 billion dollars, most of which will be spent on special environmental programs, he said. The State Duma (lower house of parliament) on June 6 approved at the third and final reading the controversial package of three bills on the import of spent nuclear fuel, paving the way for its final signing by the president. |
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