Conmee mulls resolution about nuclear waste
Conmee Township may become the next rural municipality to formally oppose a proposal to ship spent nuclear-fuel rods across its boundaries.
Council is to consider next month a resolution stating its opposition to the shipment plan by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, which intends to ship the rods to a future underground storage site to be built near Ignace or in southwestern Ontario.
The move follows a presentation this week to Conmee council members by the Environment North and We the Nuclear Free North groups, both of which oppose the Nuclear Waste Management Organization's plan.
The group's contend that spent fuel rods from nuclear reactors, which remain radioactive for several years, should not be shipped and instead contained "in the vicinity" of the power plants where they are used.
If Conmee council approves a resolution opposing shipment of the rods at its July 10 meeting, it will join other area communities, such as Nipigon, Red Rock and Fort William First Nation, which have already done so.
Conmee Mayor Sheila Maxwell has earlier expressed concerns about shipping radioactive rods by transport truck, given the high rate of collisions involving heavy trucks on main Northern routes like highways 11 and 17.
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization maintains the rods will be shipped by truck or rail in specialized containers deigned to withstand hard impacts, fiery explosions and immersions in water.
Environment North nuclear-issue spokeswoman Dodie LeGassick, who took part in this week's presentation to Conmee's council, said it remains to be seen if tests on the containers have shown them to be able to withstand actual collisions.
LeGassick said municipal fire departments have expressed concerns about having to respond to road crashes when there is nuclear waste onboard or spilled onto roadways.
Proponents of shipping the fuel rods say nuclear materials have been safely transported in Canada in the past, and that the track record of doing so is sound.
LeGassick said Northern Ontario shouldn't be expected to deal with the spent fuel rods because it doesn't rely on nuclear power and has a surplus of electricity, mainly from hydroelectric stations.
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization has said it wants to select a final location for the underground storage site sometime this year. The agency has also stated it won't choose a location where locals have expressed opposition to the project.
The closest communities to the Northern candidate site — Ignace and Wabigoon Lake First Nation — continue to mull the project and have yet to make a decision on whether or not they support it.
Even after a location for the storage site has been selected, it would take about 20 years to build, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization said.
Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative reporter, The Chronicle-Journal
