On March 1, the Trudeau government is expected to announce its decision on whether to allow a nuclear waste dump next to Lake Huron. Now is the time to tell the government that it must stop this short-sighted project in order to protect the Great Lakes.
Ontario Power Generation (OPG) wants to build its deep geologic repository (DGR) for low and intermediate level radioactive waste at the Bruce nuclear site in Kincardine, Ontario.
If this controversial project is approved, nuclear waste that is considered hazardous for hundreds of thousands of years would be stored just a few hundred metres from the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin, the source of drinking water for about 40 million people in two countries.
Six U.S. Senators and 26 U.S. Representatives from a number of Great Lakes states have written to Prime Minister Trudeau, urging him to stop the project. More than 180 communities have passed resolutions against this nuclear dump.
Please take a moment to add your voice!
Other deep geological repositories for nuclear waste in Germany and the U.S. have been plagued by radioactive leaks, serious structural problems and accidents. The OPG proposal counts on the size of Lake Huron to dilute any radioactive leaks that escape from the nuclear dump over the next 100,000 years.
Far too many serious questions about the project remain unanswered, including the suitability and selection process of the proposed location, and the adequacy of the design to prevent radioactive releases to the environment over a time period that will affect so many generations.
The Great Lakes are effectively a lived Commons and must be shared, protected, carefully managed and enjoyed by all who live around them from generation to generation. The waters of the Great Lakes are a public trust, meaning they must not be appropriated or subordinated for private gain, or put at risk by short-sighted and unsustainable practices. While there are many political jurisdictions governing the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin, it is one integrated watershed. A decision to allow a nuclear waste dump on its shores, against the wishes of so many communities that depend on those waters, will significantly undercut past and future efforts to cooperatively manage and protect this irreplaceable resource.
