A British company is planning to implement a project to upgrade a nuclear waste storage facility in Russia's northwest by the end of 2008, a local administration official said Tuesday.

British company Crown Agents Ltd. won a tender to rebuild a Radon storage facility for low-level radioactive waste in the Murmansk Region. The European Union is supporting the project with 4 million euros under the G8 Global Partnership Program.

Radon, a state-run company that provides long-term storage for nuclear waste, opened the facility in the Murmansk Region in 1962, but it was closed in 1994 for safety reasons.

The reconstruction of the site, which is located near the regional center of Murmansk, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the Norwegian border, is due to be completed by December 1, 2008.

Representatives of the European Commission, the British company and local authorities met Tuesday in Murmansk to discuss the details of the project and its implementation schedule.

Following its reconstruction, the facility will provide better treatment and storage of spent nuclear fuel, securing environmental protection and observance of safety requirements in Russia's northwest, as well as in neighboring countries.

The site is part of Russian's system for maintaining and storing low-level radioactive waste produced by private enterprises, which comprises 15 storage facilities in various regions of the country.

SOURCE: RIA Novosti

DATE: Feb 13, 2007

Topics: Spent Fuel, Russia, Europe, Great Britain