MOSCOW STRUGGLES TO REGULATE TOXIC WASTE IMPORTS…

The Russian government faces many difficulties in regulating the import of toxic waste into the country, an expert from the Russian Security Council interdepartmental ecological safety commission said January 6. According to Valery Menshchikov, foreign companies seeking to dispose of toxic or radioactive wastes have been known to contact local administrators in Russia with offers to construct toxic waste processing plants. Such plants are often equipped with technologies that fail to meet accepted western ecological standards, he said. The Russian State Inspectorate For Nuclear Safety claims that in recent years, foreign firms have several times attempted to send to Russia radioactive waste camouflaged as raw materials. The inspectorate itself overturned a contract for the delivery of up to 5,000 barrels of liquid radioactive waste to the Russian Arctic port city of Murmansk from a Taiwan-based company. (6)

…Amid Concern Over Army’s Role.