Nuclear waste remains a major issue for Sask. power plan

[Oscar]

Nuclear waste remains a major issue for Sask. power plan

[ https://thestarphoenix.com/opinion/lett ... power-plan ]

Readers sound off on the dangers of nuclear waste and turning high schools into corporate training
grounds.

Star Phoenix - July 06, 2024

Hats off to the authors of the recent op-ed, “Tobacco settlement with provinces has a dark side,” who rightly criticize
a settlement proposal with the tobacco industry that relies on future sales revenues, an argument that rests upon a
consideration of future generations being exposed to an addictive and harmful product.

Similarly, our provincial and federal governments have signed on to an extremely expensive and dubious technology
to be paid for with taxpayer dollars.

Only a decade or so ago we were being told that Saskatchewan had a “moral” obligation to store the extremely
hazardous radioactive waste produced by nuclear power plants; now we are being told that this same waste (smaller in
size but more highly refined and thus more lethal) is of no real consequence.

While temporary storage containers “prove” nuclear waste can be adequately managed, Canada’s Nuclear Waste
Management Organization is still searching for a permanent geological repository.

So not only are there no working prototypes for the new wave of nuclear reactors, there are no permanent waste
storage sites and, consequently, no plans for a rolling stewardship that must be in place for thousands of years.
Such plans must be 100 per cent foolproof. With respect to nuclear waste, like operational power plants, there are no
acceptable risks when it comes to accidents and mistakes.

Apparently, taxpayers are once again being taken for rubes and bumpkins by politicians who have not yet done their
homework on this issue.

Wayne Turner, Saskatoon