RE: Canada Plutonium Debate Rages

["Lamothe, Emelie" <lamothee@aecl.ca>]

Sandy,

Where did this particular article appear?  I have been "battling" this one
for quite awhile in other forum.

Emelie Lamothe
"Chair", Canadian chapter
Women in Nuclear
lamothee@aecl.ca

> ----------
> From: 	Sandy Perle[SMTP:sandyfl@earthlink.net]
> Reply To: 	radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
> Sent: 	Wednesday, July 14, 1999 4:03 PM
> To: 	Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: 	Canada Plutonium Debate Rages
> 
> Wednesday July 14 2:18 PM ET 
> 
> Canada Plutonium Debate Rages
> 
> TORONTO (AP) - The Canadian government insists it wants to help 
> eliminate nuclear weapons, yet its plan to burn plutonium from 
> dismantled U.S. and Russian missiles is under fire from the country's 
> most ardent anti-nuclear groups.  
> 
> A small quantity of weapons-grade plutonium is scheduled to be driven 
> into Canada from the United States this summer for a test burn at a 
> nuclear research facility in Chalk River, Ontario, 100 miles west of 
> Ottawa.  
> 
> Scientists will seek to determine if the plutonium can be used on a 
> regular basis as fuel in Canada's nuclear reactors. If the test goes 
> well, and if promised environmental and safety reviews result in 
> approval, Canada has offered to burn up to 100 tons of weapons-grade 
> plutonium fuel at reactors in Ontario over a 25-year period.  
> 
> Opponents of the project express deep concerns about safety and are 
> skeptical about the fact that Canada's troubled nuclear power 
> industry is promoting the plan when several of its aging reactors are 
> experiencing problems.  
> 
> ``This nuclear industry-driven project is presented by the prime 
> minister and other supporters as a disarmament initiative,'' said 
> Kristen Ostling of the Ottawa-based Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout. 
> ``In fact, the project will contribute to proliferation by 
> commercializing the use of plutonium.''  
> 
> Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy, who helped lead the global campaign 
> to ban land mines and is a strong advocate of disarmament, says 
> Canada hasn't made a final commitment to the long-term project.  
> 
> ``The only commitment we have made is to undertake certain tests of 
> very small, minute portions to determine the feasibility,'' Axworthy 
> told Parliament recently. ``We live in a dangerous nuclear world. We 
> have some responsibilities to help in the denuclearizing of that 
> world ... We are simply testing to see if we can make a contribution 
> to that issue.''  
> 
> Parliament members from several opposition parties, and even from the 
> governing Liberal Party, have opposed the project.
> 
> ``Canadians do not want our country to become a dumping ground for 
> the world's Cold War plutonium,'' said Svend Robinson of the left-
> wing New Democratic Party.  
> 
> The plutonium shipments will originate at a U.S. government facility 
> in Los Alamos, N.M., and be driven overland, possibly through North 
> Dakota or New York. The date and exact route are not being disclosed 
> for security reasons.  
> 
> Under heavy pressure from congressmen and local officials in 
> Michigan, U.S. authorities agreed to abandon a third possible
> route that crossed into Ontario north of Detroit. Michigan officials 
> said they feared disaster from road accidents and fire.
> 
> Greenpeace, part of the coalition of groups opposing the project, 
> says the plutonium shipments could be targeted by terrorists.
> 
> The U.S. and Canadian governments say the risk of an accident or 
> terrorism is very small. According to Axworthy, the plutonium 
> involved is no larger than a double-A battery.  
> 
> ``I do not think it represents a real threat to Canada,'' he said. 
> ``But nuclear proliferation represents a threat to all mankind.'' 
> 
> Sandy Perle
> E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 
> Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
> 
> "The object of opening the mind, as of opening 
> the mouth, is to close it again on something solid"
>               - G. K. Chesterton -
> ************************************************************************
> The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
> information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html
> 
************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html