Niagara At Large is posting the following for readers in our greater Niagara region who may have concerns about plans to ship radioactive waste through the Great Lakes and Welland Canal.
The call from Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath to the province’s premier, Dalton McGuinty to halt these shipments is just the latest of many calls of concern around this from bodies on the Canadian and American sides of our Great Lakes region.
Following the posting of Horwath’s open message to Ontario’s premier, Niagara At Large is posting a recent piece by Great Lakes United, a U.S./Canada coalition of lakes conservationists with a head office in Buffalo, N.Y., raising concerns about these planned shipments of radioactive waste.
Don’t float nuke boat: Horwath to McGuinty
QUEEN’S PARK – NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is calling on the McGuinty government to halt planned shipments of radioactive waste through the Great Lakes.
A ship carries commercial cargo through the Welland Canal where there are plans to ship radioactive waste through the canal and lower Great Lakes. File photo by Doug Draper
Bruce Power is proposing to ship 16 radioactive nuclear steam generators from Owen Sound to Sweden for dismantling and recycling.
“Seventy Great Lakes mayors, dozens of environmental groups, and First Nations communities oppose this plan, which was not part of Bruce Power’s initial proposal and exceeds by 50 times international limits for radioactivity on a single ship,” said Horwath, citing the growing grassroots opposition.
“Why isn’t the McGuinty government taking action to prevent this unprecedented and unnecessary threat?” she asked Premier Dalton McGuinty during this morning’s Question Period.
McGuinty passed the question to his Energy Minister Brad Duguid who in turn passed the concern to the Federal government, saying it’s under their jurisdiction.
“The McGuinty government needs to stop passing the buck and show some leadership,” said Horwath. “The Ontario government is responsible for protecting the Great Lakes. And the provincial government owns Ontario Power Generation (OPG) which owns and operates the radioactive waste site where the generators are stored.”
She implored McGuinty to stop ignoring the obvious danger to Ontarians. “The Premier should order OPG to slam the brakes on this hare-brained plan to ship radioactive nuclear waste through our Great Lakes,” said Horwath.
From the Canada/U.S. citizen coalition Great Lakes United
Action Alert: Act now and sign a petition to stop the shipment of nuclear steam generators on the Great Lakes. A member group of Great Lakes United (Nuclear-Free Green Energy Task Force) is calling for your help.
They are asking for signatures on a petition to stop the shipment of nuclear steam generators on the Great Lakes.
This is petition is being taken to the Owen Sound, (Ontario) City Council on Monday night, September 13th. The petition from Citizens Against Radioactive Generators in Owen Sound (CARGO) can be signed here:
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/38935.html CARGO will continue taking online signatures until September 30, but they need as many signatures as possible this morning (Monday, September 13).
This petition is in opposition to the transport of 16 radioactive steam generators by road from the Bruce nuclear complex to Owen Sound and by ship from Owen Sound to Studsvik in Sweden on the Baltic Sea. The shipping of radioactive material poses an unacceptable risk to the Great Lakes ecosystem, and allowing this shipment to take place sets a dangerous precedent for the future health of the lakes. For more information on this issue, please visit http://www.glu.org/en/campaigns/energy/nuclear/steam-generators Please take action and sign this petition today (at http://www.gopetition.com/petition/38935.html).
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