Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: MONDAY, October 18, 1993 TAG: 9310180059 SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: DATELINE: MOSCOW LENGTH: Short
The Ministry of Environmental Protection said the low-level radioactive waste came from a ship-repair plant near the port of Vladivostok, across the sea from Japan.
The ministry said that foreign countries and international organizations were notified in advance and that the dumping was being conducted according to international norms.
Greenpeace monitors shadowing the three Russian ships said that when the dumping began Sunday, they measured radiation in the air at 10 times background levels of radiation that occurs naturally in the universe.
Russian officials said up to 70,000 cubic feet of liquid radioactive waste was to be dumped. Greenpeace said the waste was primarily reactor coolant and cleaning waters from dilapidated nuclear-powered submarines. - Associated Press
by CNB