Great Lakes Are Not a Dump!

From the inbox:

[T]his proposal to site a nuclear waste dump on the shores of Lake Huron is a matter of national and international importance, in my view. I know this issue may not be on everyone’s radar, but I ask you to take a few moments, read this information and then go to the web site below and sign the petition. www.greatlakesnotadump.com

The project is a proposal by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to construct and operate a deep-geologic disposal facility on the Bruce Nuclear Site, within the municipality of Kincardine, Ontario. The Deep Geologic Repository would be designed to manage all of the radioactive wastes from 20 commercial nuclear power reactors in Ontario ­ with the exception of the irradiated nuclear fuel.

This proposal to build a deep underground dump (DUD) for radioactive wastes on the shoreline of the Great Lakes is unacceptable. Water is the most likely dispersal medium for toxic materials in general, and for radioactive wastes in particular. This is what is being considered at the Bruce nuclear complex on the Canadian side of Lake Huron. The DUD would be located just over one kilometre (less than one mile) from the Lake.

Since the DUD is only 50 miles from Michigan across Lake Huron, leakage of radioactivity from the dump could directly affect tens of millions of residents in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, and contaminate the drinking water in Port Huron, Sarnia, Detroit, Windsor, Toledo, Cleveland, Erie, Buffalo, Toronto and countless other communities downstream. This DUD proposal is not just a Canadian issue, but an international one. In 1986, Canada protested when the U.S. proposed a high-level radioactive waste dump in Vermont because it was too close to the Canadian border; that proposed dump was subsequently cancelled. The Canadian DUD proposal sets a dangerous precedent for the establishment of perpetually hazardous facilities on the Great Lakes, and impacts people on both sides of the border.

For those of you who follow this issue in Saskatchewan, Cameco – the world’s largest uranium mining company – holds a 31.6% share of the four Bruce B reactors in Ontario and have been actively promoting the siting of a high level nuclear waste dump in Saskatchewan’s north.

Documents related to the environmental assessment of this proposal can be downloaded and viewed at
http://www.acee-ceaa.gc.ca/050/DocHTMLContainer_e.cfm?DocumentID=26204

The Great Lakes United Nuclear-Free/Green Energy Task Force is asking that the public comment deadline be extended for six months beyond June 18th. Given the longevity and the unprecedented nature of the hazard that the DUD represents for the entire Great Lakes ecosystem, as well as the minimal outreach to the United States and Native American/First Nations that the Canadian federal government has undertaken, this extension request is reasonable.

The Great Lakes are a national treasure, so please consider taking the time to sign this petition. And pass this along to others who may be interested.

For more information, you can contact:

Kevin Kamps, Great Lakes United Nuclear-Free/Green Energy Task Force – kevin@beyondnuclear.org
Gordon Edwards, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility – ccnr@web.ca

Thanks for sending this, Stephanie.

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