Sofia/Bulgaria - Bulgarian nuclear industry cancelled plan to transport nuclear waste to Russia in December 1998, said officials of the country' committee on using of nuclear power for peaceful purposes December 22. In the autumn of 1998, intergovernmental agreement for the nuclear waste shipments was protested in Russia, Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova - all countries that signed the agreement which includes not only shipments of radioactive waste, but also reprocessing of waste. Environmentalists said, "governments promote nuclear proliferation, plutonium production and increase the risk of nuclear accidents" through the agreement.

More than 200 environmental groups from every corner of the globe signed the appeal to authorities of Russia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine, asking to cancel the plan for nuclear waste shipment. During November and December 1998, Bulgarian and Russian environmental groups presented the appeal to parliaments of involved to the waste shipment countries. Today Bulgarian officials said the shipment was cancelled because the Moldovian parliament was opposed to. Alternative route for the shipment from Bulgaria to Russia, through Romania and Ukraine, isn't developed.

Bulgarian energy utility NEK stated in November 1998 it needs to transport nuclear waste out of Kozloduy nuclear plant urgently and that is important for the continuation of normal operation of the plant. Kozloduy, the only nuclear plant in Bulgaria, was claimed the most dangerous in Europe by International Atomic Energy Agency in 1990. Bulgaria promised G-7 to start the decommissioning of Kozloduy nuclear reactors before 2000 but presently refuse to fulfill the agreement.

"Shipment of nuclear waste present serious danger to the environment and people," says Polina Kireva of Bulgarian environmental group Za Zemyata. "Not only this shipment of nuclear waste must be cancelled but all of the planned for the future shipments, the waste should not move through the borders, no countries must send their waste to neighbours," she add.

"Cooperation of Russia and Bulgaria should not be consequenced by new nuclear accidents," says Vladimir Slivyak of Russian environmental group ECODEFENSE!. "No more reprocessing of nuclear waste in Russia must be allowed, no more plutonium that can be used for nuclear bomb should be produced, nuclear industry must be forced to spend its potential for the solving of existed problems instead of creating the new nuclear disasters," he adds.