MOSCOW, March 9 (RIA Novosti) - The depleted uranium hexafluoride that Russia imports for reprocessing is not considered a type of nuclear waste, a nuclear expert said Thursday.
A number of Russian environmental protection organizations reported Thursday that a port in Russia's second city, St. Petersburg, was regularly used for transporting radioactive waste.
"As far as I am concerned, it refers to shipments of depleted uranium hexafluoride, which is two times less radioactive than normal uranium," said Viktor Seredenko, a department head at the institute of chemical technologies and an expert for the International Atomic Energy Agency.
He said that uranium hexafluoride was not considered radioactive waste by international standards.
"Thanks to unique technologies developed by Russian specialists, this product can be reprocessed for further use," Seredenko said, adding that transportation and processing of uranium hexafluoride was conducted in full adherence with domestic and international norms.
