Russia’s Ministry of Nuclear Power is seeking new legislation to provide more precise definitions of spent fuel and nuclear waste, according to Minister Yevgeny Adamov.

Current legislation defines spent fuel as that which contains over a half of residual uranium 235 while waste is material which is unsuitable for further use. Adamov says the present definition of nuclear waste is rather vague because what Russian physicists regard as useless is viewed as promising raw materials by their Japanese and some other colleagues. Adamov is also pressing for the establishment of a state-run nuclear industrial concern to be responsible for all aspects of nuclear fuel reprocessing and to co-ordinate all activities relating to fuel and waste processing.