RIGHT on the heels of the Tomsk-7 nuclear disaster, the British weekly, The Observer, reports Russia has been dumping nuclear reactors at sea and plutonium from nuclear warheads is posing a threat to international fishing grounds off the Norwegian coast.

The weekly also alleges that the Russian submarine fleet is not able to operate safely, as the vessels contain excessive quantities of nuclear waste. And, The Observer goes on to add, Russia has no option but to continue dumping until new processing plants come on-stream in 1997.

Moscow has admitted to the dumping and top officials say they will conduct a survey jointly with South Korea of the East Sea.