1.   The tests are designed to ensure that the waste does not cause significant damage to Marine wildlife or human health.

2.   Draft directives on civil liability for damage caused by waste are under discussion.

3.   The Commission has already proposed establishing a compensation fund for damage caused by waste.

4.   Activists say the containers are not leakproof, despite government assurances, and so shipping the waste could cause an environmental disaster.

5.   Chemical waste is causing serious health and reproduction problems for wildlife in North America and the Atlantic Ocean, the World Wide Fund for Nature warned Thursday.

6.   Chemical waste is causing serious health and reproduction problems in wildlife, the World Wide Fund for Nature warned Thursday.

7.   The activists say the containers are not leakproof, despite government assurances, and so shipping the waste could cause an environmental disaster.

8.   Concern over the pollution caused by waste from conventional weapon testing has also led to calls for the Kazakh government to negotiate closure of the test centres with Russia.