Wawa and Ear Falls in Ontario, as well as English River First Nation and Pinehouse in Saskatchewan will no longer be considered as potential sites to store about two million highly radioactive bundles of nuclear waste. This is good news and we extend our congratulations to our friends – notably the Committee for Future Generations recently honoured at our annual general meeting in Saskatoon – who were fighting to keep nuclear waste away from their communities and waterways.
Unfortunately, the communities of Creighton in Saskatchewan, and Hornepayne, Ignace and Schreiber in Ontario, were identified by the federal Nuclear Waste Management Organization for more detailed study as potential sites for the nuclear waste.
Both Hornepayne and Schreiber are located just north of Lake Superior, while Ignace is on Agimak Lake, and Creighton is situated between Amisk Lake, Big Island Lake and numerous other bodies of water.
In terms of nuclear power generation, it should be noted that the Pickering and Darlington nuclear plants are located on Lake Ontario, the Bruce Power nuclear plant is on Lake Huron, the Gentilly nuclear plant is on the St. Lawrence River, and the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station is located on the Bay of Fundy.
Maude Barlow has stated, “The human community should phase out, abolish and replace nuclear technologies with alternatives that do not threaten present and future generations. The large amounts of radioactive wastes that are created by nuclear power generation will remain highly toxic for many times longer than human civilization has existed, and there is currently no long-term solution to dealing with the threats these radioactive wastes pose to the environment and human health. Nuclear power is neither the answer to modern energy problems nor a panacea for climate change challenges. There is no solution of problems by creating more problems. Nuclear power doesn’t add up economically, environmentally or socially.”
The Council of Canadians rejects nuclear power because it poses an unacceptable risk to people and the environment.
Further reading
UPDATE: Council concerned by environmental impacts of nuclear waste
NEWS: Council chapters oppose nuclear waste dump in Saskatchewan
NEWS: Wawa residents oppose nuclear waste dump near Lake Superior
