U.K. Nuclear-Free Local Authorities speak out against Canadian radioactive waste shipment

UK NFLA logo.In a media release, the U.K. Nuclear-Free Local Authorities have spoken out strongly against Bruce Power's proposed shipment of 16 radioactive steam generators, which would pass through Irish and British waters on their way to Studsvik Nuclear for so-called "recycling" in Sweden. In addition to contacting the British and Irish governments, the UK NFLA is also contacting the governments of Norway and Sweden to urge them to not approve the shipment entering their waters.

Environmentalists and municipalities vow to keep fighting against radioactive steam generator shipment on the Great Lakes

A ship between the downtowns of Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario show how narrow the Detroit River is.The Windsor Star reports that Citizens Environment Alliance of Southwestern Ontario, for one, will keep on resisting the shipment of radioactive waste on the Great Lakes, despite the Canadian Nuclear Safety (sic) Commission's rubberstamp last Friday of plans by Bruce Power to transport 16 school bus sized radioactive steam generators, each weighing 100 tons, on a single boat from Lake Huron, through the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, Lake Erie, the Welland Canal, Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, and the Atlantic Ocean to Sweden for so-called "recycling." The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Cities Initiative has determined that -- under Canadian federal law -- a sinking of the shipment, and breaching of just a small number of plutonium-contaminated steam generators, particularly in a river, could release enough radioactivity to necessitate radiological emergency measures, such as shut down of adjacent drinking water intakes. As shown by the photo at the left (provided by Citizens Environment Alliance), the Detroit River between Detroit and Windsor is not only narrow (Detroit's name comes from the French word détroit, meaning strait, after all!), it is also shallow. A radioactive release in such a location would not be much diluted by the small volume of water in the river, increasing the accident's risks to people and the environment. The Cities Initiative has made this point repeatedly to CNSC, which has duly ignored it.

Voices from Lake Erie concerned about Canadian radioactive waste shipment

The Erie, Pennsylvania Times News has reported that the Lake Erie Region Conservancy, the S.O.N.S. of Lake Erie, and the mayor of Erie, Pennsylvania have joined the growing ranks of concerned citizens, environmental groups, municipalities, and Native American tribes concerned about and opposed to Bruce nuclear power plant's proposed shipment of 16 radioactive steam generators on the Great Lakes for so-called "recycling" in Sweden.

Anishinabek Grand Council Chief says CNSC ignored rule of law by approving radioactive shipment through Great Lakes

Anishinabek Nation logo. See http://www.anishinabek.ca/.As reported at the Canadian Newswire, Anishinabek Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee, speaking on behalf of 39 First Nations in the Union of Ontario Indians (UOI), said in response to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's Feb. 4th approval of the shipment of 16 radioactive steam generators from Bruce Nuclear Power Plant upon the waters of the Great Lakes: "The [Canadian] Supreme Court has stipulated the requirement for consultation and accommodation with First Nations...First Nations have to be accommodated on activities that could have an impact on our traditional territories. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples says handling of hazardous materials in our territories requires our free, prior, and informed consent...When it comes to transporting nuclear wastes through such an important resource as the Great Lakes, there is no such thing as too much consultation. Look at what happened with the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. It's irresponsible to take chances with the transport of hazardous goods, and I'm sure all Canadians would like to think that their federal government is concerned about their safety...The Great Lakes were never negotiated by treaty and we have inherent and treaty rights to all our waterways. Neither the Nuclear Safety Commission nor Bruce Power can guarantee that a disaster will not happen with this shipment. The spillage of any hazardous waste would infringe on our constitutionally-protected rights to fish, hunt, and gather lake-based traditional foods and medicines." The Anishinabek Nation established the Union of Ontario Indians as its political advocate and secretariat in 1949.  The UOI's 39 member communities across Ontario represent approximately 55,000 people. UOI is the oldest political organization in Ontario and can trace its roots back to the Confederacy of Three Fires that have existed long before European contact.

"CNSC, Bruce Power called to the carpet over nuke shipment"

Canadian MP Nathan Cullen (NDP)The Toronoto Sun reports that a Canadian federal parliamentary committee will grill representatives of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and nuclear utility Bruce Power over Friday's CNSC approval of a Bruce proposal to ship 16 radioactive steam generators on the Great Lakes to Sweden for "recycling." Nathan Cullen (pictured at left), a New Democratic Party (social democratic) opposition member of the House of Commons natural resources committee, has confirmed that "public concern has been pouring in." At the end of September, 2010, Cullen also spoke out at the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery just after the environmental coalition -- including Kevin Kamps from Beyond Nuclear -- opposing the shipment, as CNSC hearings were to begin that day on the issue.