Nov 15: A release from the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility and several U.S. non-governmental organizations accuses Bruce Power (BP) of misleading the public, the media and decision-makers about the kind of contamination inside the cargo of 16 radioactive steam generators it plans to ship to Sweden [See WIMS 9/17/10], by neglecting to state that it is mainly plutonium. The company proposes to ship the sixteen, 100 tonne steel radioactive steam generators, from Owen Sound, through Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence and out into the Atlantic to Sweden for reprocessing.
The proposal has been met with concerted opposition from over 100 municipalities and aboriginal communities along the route, as well as from more than 70 NGOs. In response to this public outcry, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) held a public hearing in September with 79 intervenors. According to the release, the outpouring of concern at that hearing led CNSC to extend the comment period for intervenors to give added input until November 22 -- an unexpected and unprecedented development.
Most of the intervenors want Bruce Power to cancel the shipment and return to the original plan as laid down in a 2006 Environmental Assessment -- to store the steam generators on site indefinitely as radioactive waste along with all the other radioactive waste materials produced by the Bruce reactors.
The groups said if the company insists on pushing forward with its proposal, intervenors feel strongly that there must be an environmental assessment of the entire project, including "not only the initial transport to Sweden but the recycling of the radioactive metal and the return back to Canada of up to 30 percent of the original waste."
Access a release from the groups (click here).
