Lawrence Solomon: Just a (nuclear) waste
Why spend billions to store used fuel that won’t kill anyone?
Canada’s nuclear industry is again plying the back routes of Ontario’s northlands, looking for a willing host in places like Hornepayne (population 1,209) and Ear Falls (population 1,153) for a multi-billion-dollar long-term storage facility for the country’s nuclear wastes.
Twenty years ago, the last time the industry made a concerted push to convince northern communities to accept radioactive waste, the organization I work for, Energy Probe, helped community activists deep-six the plans. Today, some of those same activists of a generation ago again oppose plans to deposit the country’s nuclear waste somewhere in the vast Ontario wilderness. I am among them, but my reasoning has changed. Twenty years ago, I thought the wastes too risky to bury. Today, I think them too safe. (Financial Post)
