U.S. Rep. Candice Miller urges Sec. Kerry to activate IJC on Canadian Great Lakes radioactive waste dump

U.S. Representative Candice Miller (R-MI) has written U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, urging that he activate the International Joint Commission to review Ontario Power Generation's proposal to bury so-called "low" and "intermediate" level radioactive wastes at the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station, less than a mile from the shore of Lake Huron. Michigan is less than 50 across Lake Huron from the targeted dumpsite, and millions of Michiganders draw their drinking water from the Great Lakes downstream of the proposed dump.

The U.S. State Department wrote Rep. Miller back, saying "The Department will review any possible role for the IJC and determine next steps."

"Our fresh water makes radioactive waste transport and dumping too dangerous here"

John LaForge of Nukewatch WIJohn LaForge of Nukewatch Wisconsin has taken his hometown paper, the Duluth News Tribune, to task for its pro-nuke waste dump editorial. His op-ed could be summarized "It's the water, stupid!" John points out that the Great Lakes region, including MN and WI, is significantly less "suitable" for high-level radioactive waste disposal than was Yucca Mountain, NV -- a desert region that proved to have too much underground, corrosive water than was safe for radioactive waste burial.

Despite such basic common sense, the U.S. Dept. of Energy targeted MN with 7 proposed high-level rad. waste burial sites in the 1980s, and WI with another 2.

Ontario Power Generation, and its Nuclear Waste Management Organization, has proposed not only a "low" and "intermediate" level radioactive waste burial dump on the Lake Huron shore in ON, but is also proposing HLRW dumps on the Great Lakes shore, or in its basin, at multiple sites near Lake Superior as well as Lake Huron. John LaForge has intervened against these Canadian proposals, as well.

Dr. David Suzuki speaks out against Canada's proposed Great Lakes radioactive waste dump

Dr. David SuzukiAs reported at the website of Stop the Great Lakes Nuclear Dump:

Dr. David Suzuki, award-winning scientist, environmentalist, broadcaster, Companion of the Order of Canada, holder of 26 honorary degrees, recipient of UNESCO's Kalinga Prize for science, the United Nations Environment Program medal, the 2009 Right Livelihood Award, and Global 500 calls for halt to Ontario Power Generation proposed nuclear waste repository in Kincardine, Ontario.

Dr. Suzuki's op-ed, "Lake Huron is No Place for a Nuclear Waste Dump," appeared at Huffington Post.

City of Port Huron, Michigan passes resolution against OPG DGR

As reported at the website of Stop the Great Lakes Nuclear Dump, Port Huron, MI has joined the ranks of municipalities across the Great Lakes opposed to Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) proposed Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) -- a dumpsite for all of Ontario's so-called low and intermediate level radioactive wastes from 20 reactors across the province.

Stop the Great Lakes Nuclear Dump keeps an updated map of the spread of such resolutions across 8 U.S. states and Ontario (image, left). A combined 10.5 million people reside in the communities that have passed anti-DGR resolutions, Stop the Great Lakes Nuclear Dump reports.

"Nuclear waste plan unsafe, panel hears"

As reported by the Globe and Mail of Ottawa, Ontario, Dr. Frank Greening has warned the Canadian federal Joint Review Panel overseeing the environmental assessment on a proposed Great Lakes radioactive waste dump that discarded pressure tubes could behave like cluster bombs.

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) proposes to bury so-called "low" and "intermediate" level radioactive wastes from 20 reactors across the province less than a mile from the shoreline of Lake Huron.

The article reports:

'In a submission to a federal review panel, nuclear chemist Frank Greening said OPG’s contractors seriously underestimated the potential impacts of a bombing in the vicinity of pressure tubes that have been removed from reactors and stored as waste. In contrast to OPG assurances, Dr. Greening said the zirconium in the tubes would burn fiercely, setting off chain reactions similar to those in cluster bombs.

“I think this is quite alarming, what I’m suggesting could happen and what they seem to have entirely missed,” he said in an interview Monday. “This absolutely affects the safety case … This is the design of a cluster bomb, this is an incendiary weapon waiting to happen. In fact, I think this is absolutely reckless on their part.”'

As the article reports:

'Dr. Greening was a research scientist for OPG’s predecessor, Ontario Hydro, for more than 20 years until 2000, and has worked more recently as a consultant for Bruce Power. He has been a frequent critic of OPG and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) which – along with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency – is conducting the hearings.'