Nuclear waste deal agreed

PARIS (AFP) - Environment ministers from 16 countries bordering the Atlantic signed the Paris Convention imposing an 'absolute ban' for 15 years on dumping radioactive waste in the ocean, and agreed to combat as far as possible the dumping of all toxic wastes at sea.

France and Britain defended the right to dump larger items - the reactor components of nuclear submarines and power stations - but the final agreement was a compromise between the nuclear powers and Spain and the Scandinavian countries, which sought a halt to all dumping. The convention will be automatically extended for a further 10 years if no demands for dumping for sea are formulated.