VILNIUS - Lithuania's plan to establish a "short-term" radioactive waste repository near the Latvian-Lithuanian border has caused uproar among Latvians.
Experts said that unrest over the nuclear dump, envisioned in the vicinity of Lithuania's Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, could be due to a lack of information. Yet this hasn't cooled Latvian tempers, including Environment Minister Raimonds Vejonis.
The Latvian minister sent a letter to his Lithuanian colleagues last week urging them to find another site for low and medium radioactivity waste 's somewhere farther from the Latvian border.
In the letter, the minister explained that the area was being considered as a strategic site for rural tourism.
After several years of research, Lithuania decided to construct the repository in either Galilauke or Apvardai, both of which are located near Ignalina and considered to be the most secure sites. So-called "short-term" radioactive waste would be stored in a barrow-shaped repository that sits above ground and kept under close supervision for 300 years, after which the waste ceases to be a risk.
But Galilauke is located only 12 kilometers from the Latvian border.
Municipal authorities in Daugavpils, which is some 30 kilometers from Ignalina, also expressed concern over the repository and demanded compensation if such a site were established.
"This isn't the first time we have experienced trouble from our Lithuanian neighbors. We would appreciate it if they compiled the waste farther from Latvia," Latvian MP Augusts Brigmanis was quoted as saying by the Lithuanian media.
With Latvian parliamentary elections scheduled for October 2006, politicians could use the issue for dividends.
"It seems as if Latvians are manipulating the information with parliamentary elections coming up this autumn," Lithuanian Environment Ministry representative Vitalijus Auglys told The Baltic Times. "In his letter, Latvia's minister suggested finding another site for the repository 's for instance, in the Zarasai region 's but that is almost closer to the border."
Lithuania's radioactive waste management agency has already concluded that there isn't a better waste site than the Ignalina region. "It was a logical decision to establish the repository near Ignalina, as it's a sparsely populated area and, in terms of transportation, is close to the nuclear plant," said Stasys Motiejunas, radioactive waste manager. "On top of that, residents are more favorable to the idea since they are used to living close to the nuclear plant."
Lithuanian environmentalists, who have long advocated decommissioning the Ignalina plant, implied that the miscommunication between ministries could be a result of insufficient public information.
"We shouldn't confuse this repository with spent nuclear fuel waste. Burial of low and intermediate level short-term radioactive waste is an essential stage of the process," said Saulius Piksrys, head of the NGO Atgaja. "We support the construction of such a repository when it's established according to the latest advancements in technology."
Environmentalists have also been urging officials and the media to stop frightening society.
"It seems that the misunderstanding is due to a lack of information. If the Ignalina plant, which is 1,000 times more dangerous than the burial site, hasn't caused any trouble so far, why should the repository? And it's absurd that such a site could suddenly affect tourism," Piksrys said.
The Environment Ministry has only started to discuss the project, which will be launched in three years. What's more, Parliamentary Chairman Arturas Paulauskas reportedly learned about the nuclear repository from journalists. He said that, previously, he had only heard rumors about the idea but didn't take them seriously.
"I only heard about this a few months ago. I was told that such information was rumor, and that Lithuania would never go forward [with the nuclear waste project]. Allegedly, all of this was a result of fantasy," Paulauskas was quoted as saying.
The repository will be located not only near the border, but also about half a kilometer from Lake Druksciai 's the biggest in the country. A security area will encircle the waste parcel that should span up to some three hectares and 300 meters. Approximately 50 cellars with multi-barrier systems will be built on the field, and only hardened radioactive waste will be transported from Ignalina.
Several barriers of water-resistant clay and cement have also been designed to safeguard the ferroconcrete cellars.
"If even one mistake is made, the other barriers will compensate for it," Motiejunas said.
Construction is expected to begin in 2008, and the repository will be operative in 2012.
