Energy minister travels to Russia
Published on : 30/07/2007
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The UK's minister of state for energy Malcolm Wicks has arrived in Russia on a two-day visit to discuss options for future waste disposal, according to reports.
Mr Wicks is currently in St Petersburg, the British embassy in Moscow has said.
From there he will travel to a former naval base in Murmansk, which can be found close to the Russian-Norwegian border.
Around 30 tonnes of nuclear fuel is stored at the Murmansk naval base every year.
The UK recently set aside around £375 million to put towards a ten-year programme to fight nuclear proliferation.
In Russia, this will involve the closure of arms-grade plutonium reactors and the movement of employees from the former defence industry complex so that they don't offer their expertise elsewhere, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reports.
Concerns over the state of nuclear waste storage in the Murmansk region are rife, with several inlets on the peninsula completely devoid of life as a result of nuclear waste leaks.
