Yushchenko proposes Chernobyl waste site

KIEV, Ukraine, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has proposed building a nuclear waste disposal plant near the site of the world's worst nuclear accident.

Speaking at a session of the organizing committee established to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Yushchenko said the construction of a plant to process and dispose waste from Ukrainian nuclear power plants could help revive the area, Novosti reported.

"We should not only attract the world's attention to the problems of the Chernobyl area, but also draft a complex plan of its restoration," he said.

Ukraine annually paid $60-80 million to Russia for disposing of its nuclear waste.