The managers of the Bruce nuclear power plant, Ontario, Canada plans to transport 16 old steam generators (each of the size of a bus and weighing 100 tons) to Sweden for recycling.
Curt Guyette of the Metro times, Detroit, reports that seven aboriginal organizations, 38 local municipal authorities, seven professional organizations, 14 peace and justice organizations, 23 environmental organizations and 30 nuclear watchdog groups are protesting against the decision.
They are upset as the cargo would be shipped through three Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway and across the Atlantic to Sweden, where the metal would be recycled and the remaining radioactive material returned to Canada. Both legs of the trip would include Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River.
Duncan Hawthorne, the CEO of Bruce Power trivialized the issue by arguing that if a person with a pace maker falls in to the lake drowns that will introduce more radioactive material in t o the lake than one of the steam generators. The Metro Times columnist noted that the protesters are not alone
Seven U.S. senators from Great Lakes states including Michigan Democrats Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow who have signed a letter expressing their concerns about the plan. They urged the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration not to approve the proposal.
Opponents of the plan discovered that as per original plan the steam generators should remain at the site. Some activists feel that this precedent will transform the Great Lakes into a highway for radioactive waste!
Some environmental enthusiasts argued that if the steam generators fall into the lakes it will contaminate ts waters used by 40 million people.
Another specialist was not happy as the plan will lead to spread of radioactivity; recycled metal mproducts spiced with radioactivity is likely to be distributed all over the world.
Another concern was that the welds sealing the radioactivity within the steam generators are only dependable to a depth of 800 feet submerged underwater, the exact depth along portions of the Great Lakes shipment route.
"Radioactive waste should be isolated from the human environment, not transported halfway around the world, and certainly not dispersed into consumer products" ,Curt Guyette quoted anti nuclear activist Kevin Kamps of the Maryland-based nonprofit group Beyond Nuclear.
