'The existing law states that any waste-producing legal entity must have a license entitling them to proper waste treatment and processing. In theoretical terms, even scrap paper or used teabags could be dangerous. There exists a certain classification of hazardous waste, ranging from category 1 to category 5. Hg-lamps, for example, fall into category 1, whereas wastes classed as belonging to category 5 are not supposed to be harmful to humans. However, the law does not make it very clear just what kinds of legal entities must be licensed, so it looks like all of them actually need to get a license,’ Konstantin Oparin of the regional division of Rostechnadzor (the state environmental watchdog) said to UrBC.

Meanwhile, Uralmashzavod has recently been reported to be applying for a waste-treatment license, whereupon the local media started speculating on whether the plant management decided to store radioactive and chemical stuffs on the premises and process them there.

'One of the steps a company has to make in order to apply for a license is inform the population and carry out an opinion poll. It’s difficult to say, though, just how expedient informing the people would be. In the case of Uralmashzavod, no radioactive materials will be stored there. The license they want to get will allow the plant to officially collect, store, transfer, and recycle the waste they have been producing for years, like swarf, for instance. This waste is not harmful to human health in any way,’ Mr. Oparin observed.