Eugeny Tugolukov, first deputy chairman of committee of State Duma on natural resources, environmental management and ecology:

— If speaking about essence of the draft law, to my opinion the main thing in it is legislatively guaranteed liability of RAW producers to pay for waste burial. Thus, understandable source of financing of all works related to waste treatment is established

State Duma of RF on 20 January approved in the first reading draft law «About handing of radioactive waste (RAW)», introduced by Government of Russia. The task of the considered law is to introduce provisions of «United convention on safety of handling of spent nuclear fuel and handling of radioactive waste» ratified in the RF in 2005, into Russian legislation. Approval of the draft law will not require extra expenses covered from the Federal budget and budget funds, except the resources provided for handling of radioactive waste by Federal task program «Provision of nuclear and radiation safety for 2008 and for the period till 2015» and other task and other programs supposing measures of RAW handling, most of which was accumulated since the Soviet period in the framework of military nuclear project.

Eugeny Tugolukov, first deputy chairman of committee of State Duma on natural resources, environmental management and ecology:

— Our committee already recommended this draft law for adoption in the second reading, of course, considering some amendments. In general, I suppose, this draft law is very popular today – plenty of radioactive waste is accumulated in the country since 40-s of the previous century, and handling thereof should be regulated legislatively, to which we are called by our international liabilities.

If speaking about essence of the draft law, to my opinion the main thing in it is legislatively guaranteed liability of RAW producers to pay for waste burial. Thus, understandable source of financing of all works related to waste treatment is established. Another important thesis, to my opinion, is legislative prohibition for further accumulation of RAW without burial thereof. I think this prohibition will facilitate the fact that in several years the amount of buried wasted will however be more than that newly formed. It is a principle moment.

I would like to note separately that in the course of discussion of the draft law, it was supplemented with series of provisions. In particular, clause about exporting and importing of RAW has appeared. According to this clause, strict condition of importing of contaminated treatment materials is exporting of all RAW formed into the materials origin country. Another, equally important amendment, to my opinion, sets forth the provision that places of waste burial will be only in federal ownership. In the text adopted in the first reading it was said that they also might belong to Rosatom.

I think that this draft law will be in general positively perceived by the deputies, since it not only allows to solve the problem of continual waste accumulation without its further burial, but also determines financial mechanism necessary for RAW handling.