A proposed nuclear waste dump near the Ottawa River must be rejected because of the environmental risks it poses and because the approval process is fraught with a conflict of interest, several Indigenous nations argue.
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The development of a Near Surface Waste Management Facility (NWMF) – a nuclear waste burial site – at Chalk River Laboratories on the Ontario side of the river is the subject of a permit application that has been under consideration by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission since 2016 (CNSC) . She must make her decision in the coming weeks.
The proposed landfill would hold low-level radioactive waste for at least 50 years in the community of Deep River, adjacent to Chalk River, Ontario, one kilometer from the Ottawa River, near a wetland.
It would consist of an artificial hill the height of a five-story building, made up of various storage cells and equipped with systems for leachate collection, leak detection and environmental monitoring.
This design is “substantially the same” as any household hazardous waste landfill in Canada. while radioactive waste requires a “much stricter” level of protection, says lawyer Theresa A. McClenaghan, executive director of the Canadian Environmental Law Association.
We would never, ever, ever build a landfill in a wetland and never this close to a major river. […] It’s absolutely terrible, we can’t believe it.
Theresa A. McClenaghan, executive director of the Canadian Environmental Law Association
Therefore, in the event of a leak, radioactive material could enter the wetland and reach the Ottawa River, says Ms. McClenaghan, warning that the consequences could increase tenfold in the event of an extreme weather event.
In this man-made hill, “there would be room for a million tons of radioactive waste” that would remain there for centuries, says Justin Roy, band council member and economic development advisor for the First Nation of Kebaowek in Quebec, which is one of ten Algonquin communities, who speak out against the project.
The Ottawa River, which the First Nations call Kichi Sibi, is of great spiritual and cultural importance to them, particularly because of the presence of sacred sites.
The cities of Gatineau and the Metropolitan Community of Montreal also oppose the project, stressing that the Ottawa River and the St. Lawrence River into which it flows are the source of drinking water for millions of people downstream of the Chalk River site.
Possible effects “not trivial at all”
The health implications of a possible leak “are not trivial at all,” fears Doctor Éric Notebaert, vice-president of the Quebec Association of Physicians for the Environment and professor at the University of Montreal’s medical school.
“Any exposure to ionizing radiation, even in small amounts, poses risks, especially if the exposure is chronic,” he explains. He also says he’s concerned about tritiated water, “radioactive water,” produced at the Chalk River.
Its rapid penetration into DNA, demonstrated in animal studies, “can cause cancer, congenital malformations and death in the womb,” says Dr. Notebaert, whose organization also rejects the project.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ÉRIC NOTEBAERT
Doctor Éric Notebaert, vice-president of the Quebec Association of Physicians for the Environment and professor at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Montreal.
The location is poor and the containment method is poor. Sooner or later there will be runoff into the river and into the river. This is very worrying.
Éric Notebaert, vice-president of the Quebec Association of Physicians for the Environment
The Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, in turn, claim that their project will allow safe storage of waste thanks to a one and a half meter thick bottom membrane, a two meter thick cover, site monitoring and the possibility of repairs necessary.
Appearance of a conflict of interest
One of the two commissioners responsible for reviewing the project’s permit application, Marcel Lacroix, previously worked at Chalk River Laboratories and provides his biography on the CNSC website. He has a PhD in nuclear engineering, is a professor at the University of Sherbrooke and an engineering consultant. The second commissioner has completed her mandate.
The Kebaowek and Kitigan Zibi First Nations see this as “a big problem,” says Justin Roy. He hopes that the Commission will examine the project objectively.
The CNSC never said no to any project, not once. Every time a project was submitted, it was approved by the CNSC.
Justin Roy, Kebaowek First Nation
The CNSC “is very close to the industry it regulates,” says attorney Theresa A. McClenaghan.
“We have to ask ourselves whether the regulator is sufficiently independent if it has too many people from the regulated industry,” she said, believing this fuels the perception of bias or lack of independence of the regulator.
For its part, the Commission ensures that the evaluation process is impartial.
“There is no conflict of interest. “The commissioners are appointed by the governor in council, that is, the governor general, on the advice of the cabinet,” Braeson Holland, spokesman for the organization, replied by email after declining a requested interview with La Presse.
“The Commissioners are committed to adhering to the highest ethical standards and the strictest policies regarding conflicts of interest,” he added, highlighting Marcel Lacroix’s extensive expertise.
When asked for this article, Marcel Lacroix did not return a call to La Presse.
Rights violated
The First Nations regret that the project was able to proceed without their free, prior and informed consent, a view enshrined in Canadian law, and accuse the CNSC of failing to properly consult them.
The leaders of three Algonquin communities were heard at the commission’s last hearing in August but were not allowed to ask questions of the developer, Justin Roy regrets.
The First Nations have not ruled out challenging the commission’s possible approval of the project in court.
They also launched a Bloc Québécois-sponsored petition demanding that the federal government subject nuclear reactor decommissioning and permanent waste management projects like Chalk River’s to review by the International Atomic Energy Agency and that the commission suspend its decision on the matter until their rights are respected.
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[1945StartoftheactivitiesoftheChalkRiverLaboratorieswhichinparticularmadepossiblethedevelopmentoftheCANDUnuclearreactor
Source: Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
1952 Chalk River Laboratories is the site of the world’s first nuclear accident on December 12th. A second one will take place in 1958.
Source: Health Canada