Environment Section

We play on our river and drink its waters… so what’s this about nuclear waste?

BY KATHARINE FLETCHER

Who doesn’t love lazy summer days spent on the Ottawa River, its beaches, and tributaries? Stretching 1,271 kilometres and draining a watershed of 146,300 square kilometres, this beautiful source of fresh, potable water is yours and mine to protect and enjoy. And not just us: wildlife depends upon this ecosystem’s health.

Happily, the watershed is defended by an organization called the Ottawa Riverkeeper, where Meredith Brown is its outspoken defender.

As always, the watershed needs vigilant protection. With that in mind, have you heard about Chalk River’s Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ proposed nuclear waste storage site?

NUCLEAR WASTE AND OTTAWA RIVER

Unsurprisingly, Brown takes on the issue of this proposed nuclear landfill on her Ottawa Riverkeeper blogsite (bit.ly/2oR0VEz).

“For 90 years there has been

nuclear activity on the shores of the Ottawa River, with no solutions in place for permanently safeguarding the radioactive waste that is continuously generated at the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) in Chalk River, Ont.,” she writes.

“That may soon change. Ottawa Riverkeeper has received intervenor funding to take part in the federal environmental assessment related to CNL’s proposal to create a permanent Near Surface Disposal Facility for nuclear waste on crown land, near the small town of Chalk River.”

Good news. I think CNL must take responsibility for the safekeeping of nuclear waste. But … is this in fact a safe site?

SIZE MATTERS

The proposed megadump for nuclear radioactive waste is immense: plans reveal it may be seven stories high with an area of 70 NHL hockey rinks. It’s to be the world’s largest, designed to

house a million cubic metres of radioactive waste.

But not just its size is alarming. I read the Environmental Impact Assessment for the site, released earlier this year. It`s at bit. ly/2nLtlxS. I was shocked that plans for the waste site extend into year 2400. How can safety possibly be guaranteed for that long?

Like me, the Riverkeeper believes something must be done to stabilize the Chalk River property. What if the geomembrane of the landfill site ruptures and waste leeches into the river and nearby Perch Creek? After all, we live in an active earthquake zone, meaning tremors and fissures occur. Can a membrane last/be guaranteed until 2400? Unlikely, I say.

A group called Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area (CCRCA) maintains a website (bit.ly/2p9Gmmd) where you can read “Ten things Canadians need

to know about the Chalk River “Near Surface Disposal Facility” co-authored along with the Quebec Pontiac region’s Old Fort William Cottagers’ Association.

Brown confirmed what its website claims about the former Conservative government’s change to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. In 2012, mandatory independent panel reviews for nuclear projects were done away with. The Act even excluded the Minister of Environment from the decision-making process.

I’m concerned there’s no governmental body – let alone Catherine McKenna, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change – engaged in this process. If you want to make your voice heard about your Ottawa River contact Riverkeeper at ottawariverkeeper.ca or the CCRCA at concernedcitizensofrca@ gmail.com. •