By David Thompson, Saint John
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is made up of the companies and utilities who own, create and store nuclear spent fuel waste at their reactor sites in Canada. It was mandated to site and build a central, permanent, long-term underground waste storage facility for this spent fuel reactor waste, which will remain dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years and must be permanently isolated from entering the environment.
The organization visited Saint John on June 4 and held an open house in an effort to sell Canadians on their idea of a large central underground repository for spent nuclear reactor fuel waste. This will mean ongoing transportation of nuclear waste across the Canadian landscape. They are touting big financial benefits to the community/province who accepts their nuclear waste proposal.
Their proposal to establish a central underground storage facility will not eliminate the continued and on-going storage of hundreds of tons of radioactive spent fuel waste at the various Canadian reactor sites, including Lepreau.
The central waste storage facility proposal will only add to the on-going risk and danger to the public and environment. This waste will be transported by rail, highway and water. The potential for accidents, sabotage and diversion are real.
The concept of continued production of nuclear waste and on-going transportation from reactor sites to a central repository should not be decided without public participation. This requires open, transparent and public community meetings and debates, not self-serving open houses. Future human health and the environment depend upon it.
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