By Feb. 1, sign your group onto a coalition letter to protect the Great Lakes against radioactive contamination! (Attend Jan. 25 Webinar!)

The Great Lakes, as seen from outer space on a cloudless daySign-on to nominate radionuclides as a Chemical of Mutual Concern under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

(Jan. 25 Webinar to learn more -- see bottom of message)

John Jackson, A binational Great Lakes citizen activist, and Coordinator of Citizens Network on Waste Management [Ontario], has sent out the following message (please note that while "Great Lakes groups" are referred to, the Great Lakes are not a national, nor a binational, but an international treasure, that must be protected by groups not only throughout the Great Lakes Basin, but beyond):

Many of us have made valiant efforts to get more attention for radionuclides under the GLWQA [Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement]. Here is another effort. Please read the e-mail below from CELA [Canadian Environmental Law Association] explaining this effort. You need to sign-on by February 1.

Also, please share this e-mail with other e-mail lists that you have who are interested in nuclear issues around the Great Lakes.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me. Also Brennain [Lloyd of Northwatch] has organized a webinar on this initiative for January 25. The details for this are at the end of the e-mail below.

John

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DEADLINE FOR RESPONSE: MONDAY FEBRUARY 1, 2016 - please share the following email with other Great Lakes NGOs.

Dear Great Lakes Colleagues:

The Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) is seeking your support to an NGO letter addressed to the US Environmental Protection Agency and Environment and Climate Change Canada to designate radionuclides as a chemical of concern in the Great Lakes basin under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (Annex 3 - Chemicals of Mutual Concern). For your consideration, you will find the NGO letter [linked here] along with a report, titled "Radionuclides as a Chemical of Mutual Concern in the Great Lakes Basin" (final draft) prepared for CELA by John Jackson. We are seeking your support to the NGO letter only. The report, which is in its final phase of production, will provide you with additional information that supports the nomination of radionuclides under Annex 3 of the Agreement.

The NGO letter recommending radionuclides as chemicals of mutual concern in the Great Lakes marks the first effort to nominate chemicals under Annex 3 of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.  The NGO letter and CELA report relied on the binational framework outlined under Annex 3.

CELA will coordinate a media release to mark the submission of the NGO letter and the CELA report to the Co-Chair of the Great Lakes Executive Committee of the Agreement. We aim to submit the NGO letter and CELA report in February (date to be confirmed). We will keep you posted on the release date and the development of the media strategy.

 

For those interested in supporting the NGO letter, please send an email to Fe de Leon, CELA at deleonf@cela.ca with the following information:

 

NAME of organization:

CONTACT:

POSITION (optional):

PROVINCE/STATE:

EMAIL:

TELEPHONE:

Thank you for considering the NGO letter.

Finally, I wanted to take this opportunity to announce a webinar to highlight CELA's report, "Radionuclides as a Chemical of Concern in the Great Lakes" and the efforts to coordinate a NGO letter in support of a nomination of radionuclides under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The webinar will be hosted by Northwatch. 

WEBINAR:

Monday, January 25, 2016 

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Eastern Time (9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Central Time)

Please consider joining us for this webinar.  More details on the webinar to follow. 

Thank you again for your consideration. Please feel free to contact me should you have questions on the NGO letter and the CELA report.

Best regards,

Fe de Leon

Fe de Leon,
Researcher,
Canadian Environmental Law Association,

130 Spadina Ave., Ste. 301,
Toronto, ON   M5V 2L4
Tel.: 416-960-2284 ext. 223,
Fax: 416-960-9392,
E-mail: deleonf@cela.ca

Visit our web site: www.cela.ca

(See a map of nuclear power industry facilities on the Great Lakes, to get a feel for the radioactive risks facing the drinking water supply for 40 million people in eight U.S. states, two Canadian provinces, and a large number of Native American First Nations. The map, "Great Lakes Region Nuclear Hot Spots," was published in 2013 by John Jackson of GLU and Anna Tilman of IICPH (International Institute of Concern for Public Health).