One issue is "proliferation risk," the possibility that different categories of wastes contain plutonium that could be made into weapons or other materials that could be refined into weapons-grade materials more easily than, say, uranium ore.
Another issue is legislation referred to colloquially as Nunn-Lugar. Under this legislation the US provides Russia a fair amount of money to keep key scientists from running off to work for axis of evil countries, to upgrade security for various kinds of Russian nuclear facilities, and I believe to buy up quite of bit of the wastes most likely to pose this "proliferation risk' and bring them back to the good old US of A for "safe disposal" and keeping out of the hands of stray Chechens, Dagestanis, loony Belarussians, al Qaeda operatives, etc ....
What Rumyantsev would be marketing I think is reprocessing services. Offhand I know nothing about the global market for reprocessing, that is how competitive it is and Russia's available capacity and expertise. Assuming sufficient capacity and expertise, a point which at least some parties would be expected to debate, it is not at all obvious to me why Russia would NOT be trying to get world market prices for reprocessing the same way they do for oil and gas UNLESS someone were, for example, getting testy about the paternalistic overtones of Nunn-Lugar. Or maybe Russia needs to upgrade capacity and is trying not to get cut out of the market.
Other point to look at: who besides France and probably some of Eastern Europe sends wastes to Russia anyway?
Now, for some citations, as soon as I have time to look.
DoreneC
In a message dated 11/17/02 9:23:36 PM Pacific Standard Time, dougmcgill at yahoo.com writes:
> Subj: Re: Russia to take nuclear waste "at dumping prices" to undercut comp
> etition
> Date: 11/17/02 9:23:36 PM Pacific Standard Time
> From: dougmcgill at yahoo.com (Doug McGill)
> Sender: owner-lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
> Reply-to: <A HREF="mailto:lbo-talk at lists.panix.com">lbo-talk at lists.panix.com</A>
> To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
>
>
>
>
> Russia is a major reprocessor of spent nuclear fuel from countries like the
> U.S. and France. They also store the stuff at nuclear facilities in Siberia
> that used to make bombs. As I read this item, Rumyantsev is just saying that
> Russia's global competitors in these businesses are meeting with each other
> to
> try to cut Russia out of the storage and reprocessing business ...
>
> Doug
>
> Doug McGill
> Media for Global Citizens
> The McGill Report
> www.mcgillreport.org
>
>
> --- Michael Pollak <mpollak at panix.com> wrote:
> >
> > On Thu, 14 Nov 2002, ChrisD(RJ) wrote:
> >
> > > Russia to take nuclear waste "at dumping prices" to undercut competition
> > > ITAR-TASS
> >
> > > Moscow, 13 November: Russian Atomic Energy Minister Aleksandr Rumyantsev
> > > has warned that in case of foul competition in the world market for
> > > spent nuclear fuel, Russia will be taking it at "dumping prices".
> > >
> > > Interviewed by the Itogi magazine, Rumyantsev said foreign competitors
> > > were conducting backstage talks with Russia's customary partners.
> > >
> > > "Don't give spent nuclear fuel to the Russians, we shall take it from
> > > you at much lower prices. This is what these talks are all about,"
> > > Rumyantsev said.
> >
> > Is there any truth to this? I find it hard to believe that either France
> > or the US is fighting to get other countries' spent fuel. We have a lot
> > of political problems trying to bury our own. I think this is one field
> > Russia has to herself. No?
> >
> > Unless there's a new security concern angle vis a vis dirty bombs. That I
> > could understand. But that wouldn't be about price competition and
> > dumping prices wouldn't help.
> >
> > Michael
> >
>
>
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