Lawsuit helps secure postponement of unprecedented shipments of highly radioactive liquid waste

In August, an environmental coalition, including Beyond Nuclear, launched a legal challenge against 150 imminent truck shipments of highly radioactive liquid wastes from Chalk River, Ontario, through multiple states to Savannah River Site, South Carolina. Such Mobile Chernobyls on steroids are unprecedented in North America. The U.S. Department of Energy has now agreed to delay shipments until February, until the legal proceeding is resolved. Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Gillibrand and Representative Higgins (both Democrats from New York, the most likely border crossing) have urged DOE to undertake a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Canadian and U.S. grassroots groups have written President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau, as well as the Great Lakes Executive Committee and International Joint Commission, calling for proper notification and an EIS re: such high-risk shipments, targeted to cross bridges spanning the Great Lakes, drinking water supply for 40 million people in eight states, two provinces, and a large number of Native American First Nations. More