White River & Manitouwadge Among Northwatch Nuclear Waste Workshop Venues
Nuclear Waste Workshops in Spanish, White River, Manitouwadge, Blind River and Elliot Lake
NORTH BAY, ON – Several communities in northern Ontario are allowing themselves to be studied as the possible location for an underground repository for all of Canada’s highly radioactive nuclear reactor waste as part of the nuclear industry’s search for a willing host. The town of White River is the most recent to add itself to the list, with Manitouwadge reported to be considering entering the nuclear industry’s site search process.
The Northern Ontario communities of Ear Falls, Schreiber, Ignace, Hornepayne, Wawa, Nipigon, Spanish, Blind River, Elliot Lake and the Township of the North Shore are also being investigated by the nuclear industry, as well as three communities in Northern Saskatchewan and a small number in the central Ontario in the vicinty of the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station.
Communities throughout Northern Ontario were first investigated as possible burial sites by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited in the early 1980s. After meeting strong opposition to that effort, the crown corporation then developed a generic concept for burying nuclear waste in the Canadian Shield, but failed to gain an environmental approval when the review concluded in 1998. The newest proposal is similar to that developed by AECL, but is being forwarded by an organization made of the companies who operate nuclear reactors in Canada. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s proposal, like AECL’s, consists of placing the waste in metal containers deep underground. Many residents are concerned about the risk of accidents, including during transportation, exposure to the radioactive wastes, and the effects on the environment and human health when the radioactivity and toxicity of the wastes outlast the containers.
“We appreciate that some of the communities in Northern Ontario who have expressed interest in this proposal are still in the very early stages of their arrangement with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization” commented Brennain Lloyd, a spokesperson for Northwatch. “That said, each of these communities will have to make a decision relatively soon about whether they want to continue in the NWMO process. It is hard to make good decisions without good information. In our view, good information is information that is reliable and independent and comes from a variety of sources, not just from the industry who is promoting the project.”
Residents of Spanish, White River, Manitouwadge, Blind River and Elliot Lake are encouraged to attend the worskhops to learn more about nuclear waste, its hazards, and the history of nuclear waste burial in Canada.
All workshops begin at 7 pm
- SPANISH – Monday, June 18th – St. Sebastien Church Hall, Spanish
- WHITE RIVER – Tuesday, June 19th – White River Seniors Harmony Club, White River
- MANITOUWADGE – Wednesday, June 20th – Council Chambers, Manitouwadge
- BLIND RIVER – Thursday, June 21st – Seniors Cultural Centre, Blind River
- ELLIOT LAKE – Tuesday, June 26th – Collins Hall, Elliot Lake
