Nuclear waste from Russia and Argentina could be stored in one of Oxfordshire's most beautiful villages.

Under the controversial plan, the radioactive material - cobalt, caesium and iridium - would be sealed in steel rods, packed in lead-lined drums, stored in water, buried inside a concrete-lined tank, and finally locked up in a protective building.

The company behind the plan insists there is no danger from the radioactive waste, but villagers at Stanford in the Vale, near Wantage, are furious.

Reviss Services, a partly Russian-owned off-shoot of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, is currently based at Harwell Laboratories. It is a world leader in the supply of sealed radioactive substances used to sterilise medical equipment.

But now it wants to build its own state-of-the-art facility at the White Horse Business Park in the picturesque village, which has won awards for its beauty. If the company gets its way, the site would store radioactive waste - including the by-products of nuclear power generation - imported from Russia and Argentina.

More than 100 villagers have already objected to the planning application. Stanford in the Vale parish council chairman Gerry McMorrow said: "We are not happy with Russian nuclear waste coming here and will fight this all the way.

"There could be health problems and no economic benefit. Having a neighbour storing radioactive substances would force other companies to leave the village and prevent new companies from coming here. It would upset the community and could cost 150 jobs.

"It would be much safer at Harwell, where there are proper emergency and security services."

But Alan Smith, community relations director for Reviss, said: "We have pledged to be a good neighbour. We are a quiet, clean business which will bring jobs to the area, and are a better neighbour than a lot of manufacturing and service companies. We take great steps to make sure we are safe and not a risk to the environment."

He added: "There would be no radiation dose coming out. There would be five layers of shielding, so nothing can escape the site."

But Friends of the Earth activist Jean Saunders, from nearby Longcot, said: "This is a totally inappropriate location for a development like this. They are dealing with high levels of radiation and it is much safer at Harwell."