An environmental group is leading the charge against Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) controversial plan to develop a deep geologic repository (DGR) for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste along the shores of Lake Huron.
The Great Lakes Environmental Alliance (GLEA), which was formed in response to the proposal, is urging residents in Canada and the U.S. to lobby against the project. In its latest round of public outreach, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency is accepting public comments on the matter through March 6.
The Ontario government-owned corporation has proposed building the repository at its Bruce nuclear power facility in Kincardine, Ontario, near Lake Huron. The facility would be built 680 meters underground for permanent storage of 200,000 cubic meters of waste from three OPG nuclear stations at Darlington, Pickering, and Bruce. The estimated $13 billion (CAN) repository could be operable in about a decade, based on OPG’s timeline.
GLEA questions an unproven storage concept for burying nuclear waste in limestone caverns, voicing concern for potential contamination of the Great Lakes, which provide drinking water to 40 million people in two Canadian provinces and eight U.S. states. The group’s preference is for above-ground storage in a more secure area.
“Citizens, community groups, and a great many other organizations are banding together to prevent these magnificent fresh waters from becoming a nuclear sacrifice zone if the DGR holding systems failed,” the group’s campaign reads.
