May 23: A coalition of U.S. and Canadian environmental organizations are questioning the independence of an environmental assessment panel review the environmental assessment for a proposed Ontario Power Generation underground radioactive waste depository in Bruce County, Ontario, about a half a mile from the shore of Lake Huron [See WIMS 7/5/07]. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission are now inviting public comment until June 18, on two documents -- the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) guidelines; and the draft Joint Review Panel (JRP) agreement -- related to the proposed Deep Geologic Repository Project to store low and intermediate-level radioactive waste in the municipality of Kincardine, Ontario.
In a release, the groups point out that they fear the assessment panel will be compromised by the presence of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. They said that after pressure from citizen groups and elected officials in both Canada and the United States, the Canadian government has committed to a Full Panel Review, but the presence of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission threatens to bias decision-making in favor of a pro-nuclear position, despite the risks.
Gordon Edwards of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility said, “The Canadian government wants to build a nuclear waste dump on the shores of the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem. There are serious risks involved in doing this and we want to ensure a full and independent assessment of what the consequences will be, free of bias from the nuclear establishment. An independent panel is one that has no conflict of interest because its members are not involved in promoting, defending, or licensing nuclear facilities."
The groups said a nuclear regulator has never had a seat on a panel for environmental assessments, and their role in this one could set a dangerous precedent, downplaying the dump’s radiological risks to health and the environment. Great Lakes United’s Green Energy and Nuclear Free Task Force urges that a completely independent review board be established, without Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission presence. The Task Force also calls on Great Lakes residents on both sides of the border to speak out, given the potential hazards of the proposed dumpsite for the entire Great Lakes watershed.
The proposal involves building a deep repository beneath the Bruce Nuclear plant site near Kincardine, Ontario. The largest nuclear power plant in North America, it is looking to build new reactors which could make it the largest nuclear power plant in the world. The dump site would contain all radioactive wastes, except spent radioactive fuel, from Ontario’s twenty nuclear reactors. Waste to be stored includes transuranic radionuclides, such as plutonium, contaminated filters from irradiated fuel pools; thousands of highly radioactive metallic pipes and other contaminated items.
Last week the Macomb County Water Quality Board and the Macomb County Board of Commissioners in Michigan both passed resolutions opposing any underground radioactive waste dump in the Great Lakes region. Over the past two years, members of Congress have repeatedly spoken out against the proposed dump, including House Energy Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Bart Stupak of northern Michigan, and Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers of Detroit. Kay Cumbow of Citizens Against Chemical Contamination said, “Macomb County is saying very clearly that the actions of its neighbors have a huge impact on the health of its communities and environment. Siting a nuclear waste dump right next to the drinking water supply of over 30 million Canadians and Americans is a disaster waiting to happen.”
Access a release from the environmental organizations (click here). Access the public notice and links to pertinent documents from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (click here).
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1 comment:
And so the fun begins...
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