Russia’s parliament took a step closer to importing nuclear waste from abroad Wednesday by giving near-final approval for creating a special committee to oversee the controversial project.
The State Duma lower house voted in the third of three required readings in favor of setting up a 20-member panel that would have to give its approval before any waste could be brought in for storage from abroad.
The measure must now be approved by the upper house Federation Council, before being signed into law by President Vladimir Putin.
The committee, chaired by Russia’s physics Noble laureate Zhores Alferov, would be made up of presidential, government and parliamentary representatives.
Putin last July signed a controversial law authorising the import of nuclear waste, which could see Russia take in an estimated 20,000 tonnes of spent fuel from abroad once all the logistics are in place.
Government studies say the project could earn Russia some 21 billion dollars (24.1 billion euros) over the next 10 years.
However the legislation has been vigorously opposed by environmental groups and some scientists who argue that Russia lacks the necessary equipment and finances to safely store nuclear waste.
A recent report said that Russia had already accumulated 14,000 tonnes of high-grade nuclear waste from its own reactors and weaponry.
The United States — the maker of nuclear power plants that account for most of the world’s atomic waste — has also warned that it will not allow spent fuel to be transferred to Russia from third countries without assurances from Moscow on its safety and security.
