The NWMO should ‘make a priority’ of ‘connecting with the city,’ mentioned a regional spokesperson.
IGNACE – Diana Schmidt is pleased with the decision Thunder Bay metropolis council handed Monday night time on the proposed long-term storage of nuclear waste in Northwestern Ontario.
Trucking accidents happen every single day in Canada, the Ignace resident mentioned, so it appears inevitable that finally a truck carrying nuclear waste to a deep geological repository west of her township would crash.
“They say it’s going to be safe,” she mentioned. “They are saying they’ve a system to maintain it secure.
“But they haven’t done it yet. They haven’t proven it. They don’t know.”
Fellow Ignace resident Roger Dufault, nonetheless, mentioned it appears like Thunder Bay councillors “are not properly educated” on how spent nuclear gasoline could be hauled to the repository.
Dufault, who chaired Ignace’s nuclear willingness committee till just lately, mentioned the system has many security options inbuilt and has been totally examined.
The decision, which metropolis council handed with one opposed and one abstention, directs metropolis administration to overview present requirements relating to the transportation of harmful items inside Thunder Bay.
Anti-nuclear teams contend that the hauling of nuclear waste by town would current an unacceptable threat to public security.
The decision as amended Monday night time additionally directs administration to draft a letter “urging the Nuclear Waste Management Organization to pursue the option of managing used nuclear fuel waste closer to the reactor stations where the waste has been generated and is currently stored, thereby avoiding transportation of nuclear waste in Thunder Bay.”
Surroundings North member Mary Veltri mentioned after the vote that metropolis council “has stepped up and shown leadership” and “addressed its responsibility to speak up” for Thunder Bay residents.
Vince Ponka, regional spokesperson for the industry-funded NWMO, had a unique take.
“The resolution just asks that we consider (a site closer to where nuclear waste is produced) as well as the one in Northwestern Ontario, and that is happening,” he mentioned.
Monday’s dialogue exhibits that the NWMO has some work to do and should “make a priority” of “connecting with the city and making sure” that councillors have the knowledge they want, he added.
The deputation contained “a lot of errors,” Ponka mentioned.
For instance, he mentioned, the deputation asserted that there isn’t any secure stage of radiation – however “our whole world has radiation” that doesn’t hurt us.
Ignace, a township of about 1,200 alongside the Trans-Canada Freeway, is a possible host group for a deep geological repository proposed by the NWMO.
A website west of Ignace is, together with a location in southwestern Ontario, on the group’s record of two finalists for the underground waste facility.
The NWMO has mentioned it’ll select a website by year-end.
The Township of Ignace launched an official assertion on the Thunder Bay decision Monday afternoon.
“We appreciate the voices and positions of other communities with respect to the storage of used nuclear fuel in the Northwest,” it mentioned.
“We also understand that this is a $26-billion project that will assist all of Northwestern Ontario, including Thunder Bay and many other surrounding communities, in creating much needed employment opportunities, housing and infrastructure and many other direct and indirect opportunities for business for the people of Northwestern Ontario.”
The assertion, emailed to Newswatch by Ignace spokesperson Jake Pastore, additionally famous a “very strong mandate” from Ignace residents and property house owners who in late April voted 77 per cent in favour of the group persevering with as a possible host group for the nuclear repository.
