FACED with a serious paucity of storage capacity, the Russian navy has asked the government permission to dump radioactive nuclear waste in the Pacific.

A Russian foreign ministry official said the government might have to allow the dumping if navy experts prove that the tankers in which the waste is stored can sink and cause an environmental disaster. In October, Russia cancelled plans to dump 800 cubic metres of waste in the Sea of Japan after an international outcry following the dumping of 900 cubic metres of waste.