Moscow: There are nearly 25,000 hazardous underwater objects containing solid radioactive waste in Russia, an emergencies ministry official said Monday.
According to Oleg Kuznetsov, deputy head of special projects at the ministry's rescue service, the ministry has compiled a register of so-called sea hazards, including underwater objects in the Baltic, Barents, White, Kara, and Black Seas as well as in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan.
These underwater objects include nuclear submarines that have sunk and ships with ammunition and oil products, chemicals and radioactive waste.
Their condition has been closely monitored for last 15 years by ministry's specialists.
The danger is that metal containers can eventually be eroded by sea water, resulting in the leak of hazardous substance.
Hazardous sites with solid radioactive waste sit on the sea-bed mainly at a depth of 500 metres, Kuznetsov said.
IANS
First Published: Tuesday, December 27, 2011, 00:50