Feb 14 - Daily News Bulletin; Moscow

Russia's Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom) plans to set up a uniform state system for recycling radioactive wastes and spent nuclear fuel by 2015, Rosatom's public relations center told Interfax.

A plan for creating the system was proposed at a seminar on nuclear and radiation safety at TSNIIATOMINFORM state company at Rosatom's order. The seminar was held outside Moscow on February 8 to 11.

Under the plan, a list of companies dealing with fissile materials, including research centers fitted out with research reactors, will be drawn up.

In addition, a federal program for nuclear and radiation safety is to be outlined and a fund created specially for it, to be run by a management company.

The plan is intended to solve the numerous pressing issues that have cropped up since the first Soviet-era nuclear projects were launched, including the problem of the Techa cascade at the Mayak nuclear wastes disposal facility.

The program will also cover the hitherto unsolved problem of recycling the graphite cores of uranium-graphite reactors, weapons- grade plutonium, the strategy and methods of handling non- recoverable wastes and other long-overdue problems.