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Plans to open Russia to imports of spent nuclear fuel got the
go-ahead from the upper house of parliament on Friday, paving
the way for President Vladimir Putin to enact the bill criticised
by environmentalists.
The Federation Council was not required by law to vote on any
of three bills forming the package, but the chamber's head Yegor
Stroyev said Putin wanted to know its opinion on one bill dealing
with the clean-up of contaminated areas.
If the Council declines to debate a bill already passed by the
State Duma lower house, Putin has the right to sign it into law
anyway. But RIA news agency quoted Stroyev as saying Putin had
told him he would only sign the bills once the upper house expressed
its opinion on that particular document.
The bills, championed by the Atomic Energy Ministry which says
Russia could earn $20 billion over 10 years, have sparked angry
protests from ecologists and liberal politicians who fear the
imports could turn the country into a nuclear dump.
Environmentalists demonstrated on Red Square this week accusing
the Federation Council of shirking its responsibility by declining
to debate the bills.
The chamber voted 92 to 17 in favour of the one bill it did debate,
Interfax news agency said.
Under the law, cash-strapped Russia would be able to accept money
to store other countries' spent nuclear reactor fuel until 2021,
when proceeds from the trade would be sufficient to allow Russia
to build new plants to reprocess the spent fuel.
Critics say the ministry may never win contracts to give it enough
cash for the task and suspect it might leave the spent fuel in
the ground indefinitely, or start importing nuclear waste that
cannot be reprocessed or reused.
Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev argues the project
will help his underfunded industry avoid decline and will boost
hi-tech research in Russia.
The State Duma passed the bills earlier this month despite fierce
opposition from liberal politicians such as head of Yabloko party
Grigory Yavlinsky who suggested postponing the vote and holding
a referendum.
Opinion polls suggest most Russians oppose the laws.
See also:
Nuclear
Waste Bill
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