Laka Foundation

Publication Laka-library:
Dumping of radioactive waste in the Barents- and Kara Seas

AuthorF.Hague, T.Nilsen, K.E.Nilsen, Bellona
DateNovember 1992
Classification 2.34.4.10/02 (RUSSIA - WASTE / REPROCESSING GENERAL)
Front

From the publication:

INTRODUCTION

Since 1989 the Environmental Foundation Bellona have been working on a survey 
of the extent of dumping of radioactive materials in the Barents and Kara Seas. The 
result of this work is presented in this report.

The Soviet Union signed the London Convention in 1976. The former Soviet 
authorities and the present authorities in Russia have both claimed that the 
London Convention does not include waste from military sources.

Both the present end the former authorities in Russia denied for a long time that any 
dumping has been taking place. Their last denial towards this issue was put forth in 
1991. This has now changed today Borris Jeltsin' s chief adviser in ecological 
questions Aleksej Jaboklev says that according to the information he has it has been 
dumped reactors in the Barents and Kara Seas. He says however that the information 
about the dumping-activities is not complete, and that the secretiveness in the navy is 
the main problem. It is in particular disturbing that the Russian navy seems to be "a 
state within the state". It is clear that the military authorities has not fulfilled 
their obligation to protect the Russian population against nuclear contamination, in fact 
the contrary has happened, they the military authorities - have been responsible for 
nuclear contamination of vast areas in Russia and other areas inside the former USSR.

The first time Bellona presented information about the dumping of radioactive 
materials in this area was in 1990. In the months that followed we heard a lot of 
rumours about dumping of radioactive materials. There was especially many 
rumours about the reactors from the nuclear icebreaker "Lenin".

(1) IAEA-TECDOC-588 1991. Vienna.
(2) Aftenposten 26.11.92.

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