The Canadian Press reports, “A confidential federal memo obtained through the Access to Information Act says at least one payload of spent, U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium fuel has been (transported from Chalk River, Ontario to the United States) under a new Canada-U.S. deal (signed last year).”
Chalk River Laboratories, a nuclear research facility, is located about 180 kilometres north-west of Ottawa on the shore of the Ottawa River.
“But even as the radioactive freight travels toward the U.S. border, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has no plans to hold public hearings or disclose which communities lie along the delivery route. The shipments themselves are protected by intense security protocol, which means specifics like routes, transportation method, quantities and schedules remain top secret.”
“A ministerial memorandum, classified as ‘Secret’, says the nuclear watchdog considers it unnecessary to hold public sessions that would allow citizens to ask questions and comment on the shipments.”
“That same memorandum, dated Feb. 25, 2011, points out that recent hearings for another nuclear-shipment case generated intense public and media interest. The controversy has stalled the project to ship 16 generators from a Bruce Power nuclear plant through the Great Lakes, up the St. Lawrence River and onto Europe.”
“The memo, obtained by The Canadian Press, appears to warn against a repeat scenario. ‘Given the public and media interest surrounding Bruce Power’s plan … there may be an expectation that similar information be made public on the shipments of spent HEU (highly enriched uranium) fuel to the U.S., and that the CNSC hold public hearings,’ said the document, addressed to then-natural resources minister Christian Paradis. …When asked why public hearings aren’t necessary for the uranium deliveries, a commission spokeswoman replied by email: they ‘are not carried out given the robustness of the packages used and due to the security issues related to the transfers of highly enriched uranium.'”
“The continued shipments are scheduled to take place until 2018.”
In mid-December, the Toronto Star reported, “When it comes to the shipping of dangerous chemicals on highways and railroads…, the federal government’s record of cracking down on companies who violate safety standards leaves a lot to be desired. …(Federal Environment Commissioner Scott Vaughan’s) report documents a series of problems across Transport Canada, the National Energy Board, and Environment Canada, including a failure to enforce safety regulations and a lack of required training for inspectors. But the most common problem among the departments is a lack of follow-up after violations have been discovered. …Inspectors found violations…, including problems with containers used to transport dangerous goods (such as explosives, sulphuric acid, ammonia), and missing warning labels. But despite the identification of these problems, there was no evidence of any corrective action taken by Transport Canada in most cases.” Postmedia News added, “Vaughan said every week there are an average of two incidents involving the transport of dangerous products in Canada…” More on the commissioner’s report at http://canadians.org/blog/?p=12805.
