U.S. Senators Levin and Stabenow thanked for defending Great Lakes

U.S. Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie StabenowBeyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps has thanked U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow (Democrats from Michigan) for defending the Great Lakes against radioactive waste shipping risks in an op-ed published today in the Muskegon Chronicle. Although the Canadian radioactive steam generator shipment at issue would not ply the waters of Lake Michigan (it would originate in Ontario and travel eastward), the Port of Muskegon itself has been targeted by the U.S. Dept. of Energy, under its Yucca Mountain, Nevada dump plan, for barge shipments of high-level radioactive waste. The irradiated nuclear fuel would have been shipped from Palisades nuclear power plant, on the waters of Lake Michigan, to Muskegon for loading onto a train. In 2002, Sen. Stabenow voted against the Yucca dump due in part to this risky proposal. In 2009, President Obama and Energy Secretary Chu cancelled the Yucca dump.