Skip to content

Stop producing nuclear waste until we can dispose of it, critics urge Canada

Stop producing nuclear waste until we can dispose of it, critics urge Canada
13240665_web1_AJW107494210

Stop producing nuclear waste until we can dispose of it, critics urge Canada

OTTAWA — Environmental groups say Canada should stop producing nuclear energy until the federal government replaces its “pathetic” waste disposal policy with something more meaningful and scientific.

The groups, including the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility and the Canadian Environmental Law Association, intend to protest outside a meeting Wednesday where officials will discuss plans to decommission nuclear labs and reactors in Chalk River, Ont., and Pinawa, Man.

The groups are particularly concerned about the proposal to build a surface-level disposal site at Chalk River, about two hours northwest of Ottawa, that would house a million cubic metres of waste just a kilometre from the Ottawa River, and to bury underground nuclear reactors at the sites in concrete.

Neither proposal meets international guidelines for the handling of nuclear waste, they say.

Indeed, Canada’s only written national policy on radioactive waste is so short it would take less than four tweets to post it on Twitter, said coalition president Gordon Edwards.

“Canada’s nuclear waste policy is pathetic,” he said.

The policy calls for radioactive waste disposal to be done safely and in an environmentally sound, comprehensive and cost-effective manner. It also says Ottawa must ensure radioactive waste producers meet their responsibilities and pay for any required disposal.

The policy is entirely silent on science or agreed upon best-practices for how waste should be disposed, say opponents, who want Canada to immediately halt nuclear activities until such a policy is in place, developed in consultation with the public and interested parties.