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[OPIRG-EVENTS] Fwd: ACTION ALERT: LAST DAY! - CLEAN UP CANADA'S #1 NUCLEARHOTSPOT
ACTION ALERT -- March 5, 2003
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CLEAN UP CANADA'S #1 NUCLEAR HOTSPOT --
CHALK RIVER LABORATORIES
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From:
Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County
Sierra Club of Canada
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A MODEL LETTER IS ENCLOSED
PLEASE SEND YOUR COMMENTS BY E-MAIL OR FAX
BY MIDNIGHT ON MONDAY MARCH 10, 2003 TO:
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
c/o Sunni Locatelli
280 Slater St., P.O. Box 1046
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5S9
Fax: (613) 995-5086
E-mail: interventions@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca
Tel.: (613) 995-0360 or 1-800-668-5284
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BACKGROUND
Canada's #1 nuclear hot spot -- Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) -- needs to
be cleaned up. CRL is located on a 3,700 hectare site on the Ottawa River
in Ontario, 30 km north of Pembroke. It is owned and operated by Atomic
Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), the federal crown corporation that designs
and markets CANDU reactors. Fifty years of nuclear activities at CRL have
left a heavily contaminated site. Radioactive wastes are leaking into the
Ottawa River, used as both a source of recreation and drinking water by
millions of Canadians in Ontario and Quebec.
CRL was created in 1944 as part of the allied war effort to develop the
atomic bomb. There are seven reactors at Chalk River at various stages of
construction, operation or decommissioning. Other equipment and facilities
such as accelerators, and shielded hot cells are used for research and
commercial applications. Nuclear fuel production and reprocessing facilities
are also housed at Chalk River. A variety of work is conducted, including
research and development on nuclear reactors and nuclear waste management.
The site also includes several radioactive waste storage and disposal areas
occupying about 20 hectares. Wastes were handled carelessly in the first
several decades of operation at Chalk River, and as a result there is
widespread radioactive contamination of the site. AECL continues to accept
new radioactive wastes from the nuclear power industry, radioisotope
manufacturers and other industrial sources, universities, hospitals and
government agencies. Radioactive waste from outside of Canada is not
accepted directly, but may be accepted through Canadian companies that deal
in radioisotopes.
The federal nuclear regulatory agency, the Canadian Nuclear Safety
Commission (CNSC) will hold a public hearing on renewal of CRL's license,
April 9, 2003, in the town of Chalk River.
Below you will find a sample submission that you could send to the CNSC.
Please fax or e-mail it to the CNSC by midnight March 10, 2003.
Please fax, e-mail or mail a copy to the Auditor General. The address for
the Auditor General can be also found below.
For more background on the situation at the Chalk River Laboratories, please
consult the submission made by Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County at
http://www.renc.igs.net/~cmichener/ccrc/CCRChome.html
You can also refer to the section on Chalk River found in the report
entitled "Canadian Nuclear Subsidies: Fifty Years of Futile Funding"
(http://www.cnp.ca)
Make any modifications to the submission as you see fit.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Dave Martin, Sierra Club of Canada
Tel: 905-852-0571 E-mail: nucaware@web.ca
Ole Hendrickson, Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County
Tel: 613-735-6444 E-mail: ole@nrtco.net
http://www.renc.igs.net/~cmichener/ccrc/CCRChome.html
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DRAFT LETTER FOR SUBMISSION:
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
c/o Sunni Locatelli
280 Slater St., P.O. Box 1046
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5S9
Fax: (613) 995-5086 E-mail: interventions@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca
Re: The re-licensing of Chalk River Laboratories
Dear Commissioners,
I am very concerned about the legacy of nuclear waste at the Chalk River
Laboratories (CRL), and the contamination of the Ottawa River, drinking
water source for millions of Canadians. Over its 50-year history, Atomic
Energy of Canada Limited's (AECL) operations at CRL have been shrouded in
secrecy. This history includes a record of radioactive spills, releases and
serious accidents. It's time for AECL to come clean, and it's time for a
full clean-up of Chalk River Laboratories. I would like to emphasize the
following points.
One-Year Licence
Your staff are supporting a 2.5 year licence. Given the numerous problems at
CRL, and the failure of AECL to make progress on clean-up, I urge you to
renew the license for one year only. At that time, AECL should be required
to return for a public hearing with a fully-costed decommissioning plan,
including the proposed funding arrangements.
Full Panel Environmental Assessment
Because the decommissioning of CRL involves public funding, public lands,
public licensing and a high level of public concern, the CNSC should support
a full panel environmental assessment under the Canadian Environmental
Assessment Act. The refusal to conduct an environmental assessment on the
overall plan will result in piecemeal separate assessments for individual
facilities on the site.
Environmental Monitoring
Radioactive wastes are leaking from numerous sites at the Chalk River
Laboratories. They are contaminating streams and groundwater that flows into
the Ottawa River, threatening the drinking water for millions of people. The
new CRL license should require AECL to monitor and make annual public
reports on radioactive contamination of ground water and the Ottawa River.
Disclosure of CRL Documents
Environmentalists have asked for full disclosure of decommissioning
documents through the Access to Information Act. AECL has refused these
requests on grounds of commercial confidentiality. In the interest of
environmental protection and due process these documents must be disclosed.
I would also like to inform you that I am forwarding this letter to the
Auditor General of Canada.
Sincerely,
(Insert your name, with organizational affiliation where appropriate)
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PLEASE SEND A COPY OF YOUR LETTER TO THE AUDITOR GENERAL OF CANADA:
Office of the Auditor General of Canada
& Commissioner of the Environment & Sustainable Development
240 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0G6
Fax: (613) 957-0474
Fax: (613) 941-8286 (Commissioner)
E-mail: communications@oag-bvg.gc.ca
Tel: (613) 995-3708
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