No longer under wraps

IN A damning revelation, Bellona, the
Norwegian environmental group, has
disclosed that dozens of Russian nuclear
ftiel containers carrying a large amount
of radioactive matter which had been
dumped by the Russian navy more than
30 years ago, have been found near the
Norwegian borders . The shocking evidence, kept a secret by the Russians, has
opened up fresh debates on safer ways to
handle nuclear wastes.

Says Frederic Hauge, a Bellona
activist, "Its a big, @ig mess and nj
money has been spent on it for years.
The spent containers have been locatel
in Zapadnaya Litsa, Russia's main
nuclear submarine base and only 48 k
from Norway. Each container is sail
to contain as much radioactive wast I
as was released in the first French
nuclear test at Mururoa in the Soutl@
Pacific. It is now upto the Russiar?
authorities, who have been blocking I
attempts so far to study the inherent
dangers involved, to reveal all details
so that international cooperation could
be sought to defuse the nuclear waste,
hazard.