Rubber stamping of nuclear transport unacceptable

OTTAWA -- The planned shipping of nuclear waste through the Great Lakes and down the St. Lawrence River reveals a reckless attitude toward a shared resource (the Great Lakes) and the St. Lawrence Seaway.  Bruce Nuclear Generating Station has asked the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for a licence to ship 1,760 tonnes of radioactive steel from Lake Huron to Sweden.  The decision rests with the commission’s Transport Licensing and Strategic Support Division; there are no plans for public consultation.

“It is a reckless endeavour,” said Green Party Energy and Natural Resources Critic Cathy MacLellan.  “No environmental assessment has been done for this precedent setting plan. No public consultation has occurred. The lack of transparency is appalling.”

As reported by the Toronto Star (July 11), Bruce Nuclear says: "If the very unlikely scenario occurred where the ship sank and the vessels were somehow breached, the very low levels of radiation would be diluted even further by the large volume of water and would result in a level of radiation that we believe would not even be measurable."

“Bruce Nuclear’s blasé attitude sounds a lot like the reassurances that BP gave concerning the possibilities of an oil spill on their offshore rig. Questions regarding the safety of workers at Bruce Nuclear have recently been raised and there is no reason why the public should blindly accept this. There is a lot of missing information,” said MacLellan.

The shipment requires a licence because of its size and its level of radioactivity. It may be argued that for the same reasons the public should be widely consulted and informed about the activities of Bruce Nuclear. Bruce Nuclear has stated they will not assume any responsibility in the event of an accident during the shipping of the radioactive material, pointing to the Swedish recipient company as the ones who should do any cleanup.

“The lack of technology to recycle our own nuclear waste is yet another reason why we should not be building any new nuclear plants,” said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada.  “Certainly, endangering our waterways to transport radioactive material is an issue that deserves public scrutiny.”

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Contact Information:
Debra Eindiguer
Press Secretary
C: 613.240.8921
media@greenparty.ca
www.greenparty.ca