Arctic nuke shipments worry Inuit

Alaska’s Inuit are worried about a Russian company’s proposal to transport nuclear waste through the Arctic Ocean.

George Ahmoagak, the mayor of Alaska’s North Slope Borough, said that a shipping accident involving a waste-laden vessel could lead to radiation in the Arctic food chain, endangering wildlife upon which Inuit hunters depend.

Under the proposal, a Russian company has offered to use icebreakers to carry nuclear waste from Europe to Japan via the Arctic Ocean. Ships carrying non-nuclear cargo are slated to test the route this summer.

Alaska Governor Tony Knowles is appealing to both the U.S. federal government and the governor of the Russian Arctic province of Chukotka to help block the proposal.