Greens call on Envir Min - stop nuclear waste dump in L. Hur

[Oscar]

Greens call on Environment Minister to stop nuclear waste dump in Lake Huron

[ http://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-relea ... lake-huron ]

(OTTAWA) May 14, 2015 - The Green Party of Canada urges Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq to defend Canada’s Great Lakes and reject Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) plan to create a nuclear waste dump on the shores of Lake Huron.

“Our Great Lakes are relied upon by over 40 million people in two different countries, which is why we cannot afford to take the risk of locating high-level nuclear waste – material that remains dangerous for the next quarter of a million years – anywhere near Lake Huron,” said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada and MP (Saanich – Gulf Islands). “The entire assessment process of this project was riddled with interference from our not-so independent nuclear regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). I call on Minister Aglukkaq to reject this flawed assessment and stand up for our Great Lakes.”

“We should all be concerned about the long-term storage of high-level nuclear wastes anywhere in the Great Lakes watershed, which holds 20% of Earth’s fresh water,” added Bruce Hyer, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada and MP (Thunder Bay – Superior North). “We must phase out the production of additional nuclear waste with half-lives of thousands of years as soon as possible.”

OPG is seeking approval to build a nuclear waste dump one kilometre from Lake Huron that would extend approximately 400 metres beneath the surface. The CNSC released a report today, recommending that Minister Aglukkaq approve the project; her final decision to accept or reject it is expected before September 3, 2015.

“The science is clear – nuclear waste is a source of contamination and very dangerous due to its long half-life,” concluded Daniel Green, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada and candidate (Ville-Marie–Le Sud-Ouest–Île-des-Sœurs). “It is unthinkable that the CNSC would approve of storing such contaminants near the Great Lakes basin, a densely populated area and one of the largest water basins in the world. The storage of nuclear waste remains a serious problem, which is why it is imperative to reduce our reliance on nuclear power plants and uranium mining.” -30-

For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact:

Julian Morelli
Director of Communications
Green Party of Canada
cell: (613) 614 4916
office: (613) 562 4916 (224)
wlmailhtml:julian.morelli@greenparty.ca

Green Party of Canada | Parti vert du Canada
812-116 rue Albert Street
Ottawa, ON K1P 5G3
Canada

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See you at the ribbon cutting? Federal panel approves nuclear dump on Lake Huron

[ http://rabble.ca/columnists/2015/05/see ... ign=buffer ]

By Ole Hendrickson | May 8, 2015

A federal environmental assessment panel has just released its report approving a proposal by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to bury nuclear waste on the shores of Lake Huron in a "Deep Geological Repository" (DGR). The panel's conclusions come as no surprise to informed observers: the impartiality of the environmental assessment process had been in question for months.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has never been known as a friend of the environment. But when the Harper Conservatives won a majority government in 2008 they made sweeping changes to Canada's environmental laws. One change was to remove responsibility for environmental assessment of nuclear projects from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, and put the CNSC in charge. [ http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2012 ... rwork.html ]

Instead of conducting an objective assessment of OPG's nuclear waste burial scheme, the CNSC acted as a strong proponent.

According to a September 2013 article in the Globe and Mail, CNSC and OPG jointly held "illegal and secret meetings" with local municipal officials. [ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/pol ... e14459903/ ] At one of those meetings, CNSC President Michael Binder said he hoped their next meeting "would be at a ribbon-cutting ceremony" for the DGR.

While the CNSC sucks up hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, its pretense of acting as an independent nuclear regulator is becoming less and less credible. In support of the license renewal request of SRB Technologies (Canada) Inc. (SRBT), a tritium light factory in Pembroke, Ontario, the CNSC recently posted the absurd claim on its website that measured environmental radioactivity is "within natural background levels" -- even as the CNSC's own scientists publish journal articles documenting widespread radioactive contamination in the Pembroke environment resulting from SRBT's operations. [ http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 1X14003294 ]

MORE:

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Why placing nuke dumps by the Great Lakes is an act of insanity

[ http://canadians.org/content/why-placin ... t-insanity ]

August 5, 2013 - 3:58 pm

EXCERPT:

(Council of) Canadians Maude Barlow provided context to the declining Great Lakes by outlining the global water crisis and warning that by 2030 demand will outstrip supply by 40 percent. She spoke about specific issues threats to the Great Lakes such as tar sands pipelines, including the ones running through the Straits of Mackinac, the nuke dumps, bottled water withdrawals and fracking. Barlow talked about the need for a new water ethic where water is at the centre of environmental, energy, food and other policies. Water must be recognized as a human right, public trust and commons which means that no one is allowed to abuse, pollute or appropriate the Lakes. We collectively share the lakes and have a responsibility to protect them. Barlow clearly stated a need to shift our relationship to water and the way that water is managed and concluded that the nuke dumps are an “act of insanity.” [ http://www.shorelinebeacon.com/2013/08/ ... ays-barlow ]

Sarnia mayor Mike Bradley – one of the most vocal opponents to the recently defeated nuke waste shipment – told the audience that the risk of the DGRs were too great for the Lakes warning that “we cannot keep playing Russian Roulette with the Great Lakes.” Mayor Bradley had biting words for the Saugeen Shores council saying that he couldn’t tell the difference between the local council and OPG. [ http://canadians.org/content/great-lake ... -shipments ]

First Nation Chief Randall Kahgee had simple yet profound words for the audience saying that “for all of us, water is life.” He said that he felt a responsibility to do everything in his power to protect the waters of the Great Lakes for tomorrow’s generations so that his children and his grand children don't ask why he didn’t do anything to protect the water and air. Under the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, governments have an obligation to obtain free, prior and informed consent and Chief Kahgee vowed that without free, prior and informed consent, the DGRs would not happen.

Brockton Councillor Chris Peabody spoke last, a lone councillor in the region raising concerns about the potential harms of the DGRs.

It showed that the audience was deeply moved by the presentation, with some near tears throughout the talks. The DGRs are a heated topic in this and other communities. With Bruce Power being the main employer in the region, the town is deeply divided. Yet the receding shorelines that are an ever increasingly problem are a stark reminder that the Great Lakes are not limitless and immune to our actions. If there is one thing to take away from Maude Barlow's speech it’s that a new water ethic is critical for saving the Great Lakes. We must ensure that the protection of water is paramount in energy policies. The time to begin that is now and the issue to begin with is the nuke dumps.

To take action on the nuke dumps, visit the SOS website [ http://saveoursaugeenshores.org/take-action-now/ ] and the Stop the Great Lakes Nuclear Dump website: [ http://www.stopthegreatlakesnucleardump.com/ ] .

To view photos from our visit, click here.

Tags: great lakes

Emma Lui's blog
Water campaigner for the Council of Canadians.
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/emma-lui ]

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MORE NUKE WASTE DUMP INFO:

[ http://canadians.org/search/node/nuclear%20waste%20dump ]