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Re: CBC news: Nuclear waste on the Great Lakes
Here we have a wonderful example of media distortion and fear-mongering
In a message dated 5/1/02 10:19:38 AM Mountain Daylight Time, frantaj@AECL.CA writes:
WASHINGTON - A proposal by the United States could see nuclear waste carried across Lake Michigan by barge, a plan the Canadian government does not seem to know about.
Under a new program likely to become law this summer, nuclear waste from the U.S. will be stored in a cavern dug out of Nevada's Yucca Mountain.
Hey, the "law" was enacted 20 years ago!
It will be shipped by truck or rail, raising concerns from major U.S. cities along the route who fear a collision or derailment could lead to a leak.
But the U.S. Department of Energy also announced plans to ship thousands of tons of nuclear waste from reactors on the shores of Lake Michigan to transfer sites on nearby railroads.
No. This is a (dare I say deliberate?) distortion of what is in the Yucca Mountain EIS. Because ALL FEASIBLE TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES HAD TO BE CONSIDERED) barge transportation is included in Appendix J. The EIS says (p J-75): "DOE has determined that while this [barge] scenario would be feasible, it would not be practical. The number of shipping casks and rail casks would be greater by a factor of 5 than for the mostly rail scenario and the additional cost to the program would be more than $1 billion. In addition, the truck-casks-on-railcars would lead to the hgighest estimates of occupational health and poublic health and safety impacts, most coming from rail-traffic-related facilities.
Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich condemned the idea last week on Capitol Hill.
"Over 35 million people living in the Great Lakes basin get their drinking water from the Great Lakes and I venture to guess they will not appreciate the fact that nuclear waste is being shipped across their drinking water," said Kucinich.
While Lake Michigan lies completely inside the U.S., it is part of the Great Lakes and run by the International Joint Commission.
But senior nuclear experts at the Commission told CBC News that they have no knowledge of the proposal to ship nuclear waste across Lake Michigan.
Their counterparts at Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Transport, the Department of the Environment and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission also said they hadn't heard of the proposal.
Because the barges of nuclear waste will sail inside the US, there are no legal requirements Canada be informed.
But Paul Muldoon, head of the Canadian Environmental Law Association in Toronto, says Canada needs to get involved.
"The absence of Canadian involvement is a major problem unless action is taken very soon and the Canadian public is assured by the Canadian government that it will become involved, that it will pursue defence of Canadian interests abroad," said Muldoon.
If the disposal plan is approved this summer, barges carrying nuclear waste could set sail on Lake Michigan in eight years.
Ruth Weiner, Ph. D.
ruthweiner@aol.com