Stop the Expansion of Peterborough Nukes - by KITTOH

October 16, 2009

Stop the Expansion of Peterborough Nukes - by KITTOH

[Article by KITTOH reposted from the Eagle Watch e-list:]

Stop the Expansion of Peterborough Nukes:
No More Nuclear Madness

by KITTOH

October 16, 2009

The nuclear industry raving lunatics want to build many more nuclear reactors all over the world, especially in Asia. They say it is for "peaceful" purposes only. They call it "green" energy. Wow! What an insult to people's intelligence.

We know that ANY nuclear development and proliferation are about making war and killing people, either quickly with bombs or slowly with nuclear waste.

Indigenous communities in Cree/Dene territory (Saskatchewan, Canada), Ongwehonwe and Nishnaabe territory (Ontario, Canada), Australia, Navaho/Pueblo Territory (New Mexico and Four Corners, USA), Kazakhstan, Niger and elsewhere are being targeted to accept the waste and to endure the devastation of more uranium mining. We have a responsibility to speak out against this insanity for the sake of our future generations who will inherit this horrible legacy.

It looks like somebody wants to foment nuclear war in Asia where the majority of the world's population live. China and Japan have nuclear technologies. India and Pakistan already have nuclear weapons. Pakistan is quickly being drawn into the US led war on Afghanistan. There is no end in sight to this insane carnage and destruction.

GEHitachi wants to make low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel bundles at their Peterborough, Ontario facility for nuclear reactors in Japan, India and China. People in Ontario know about the dangers and have indicated they don't want any more reactors here. Cameco, the big uranium mining company, makes the same fuel and parts for reactors at Port Hope where a growing pile of nuclear waste is making people sick. The government wants to move the waste and spread it around. It is a growing embarrassment to them as some people in Port Hope are speaking out. The nuclear waste at the small city of Peterborough is not as well known.

India has developed the technology to weaponize tritium. Nuclear reactors release deadly tritium and other radioactive toxins into the air and water. Any amount is harmful to human health and all living beings and therefore totally unacceptable. Any dosage can be fatal. Because radioactive water is chemically identical to ordinary water, it cannot be filtered out or otherwise removed from drinking water by any municipal water treatment plant. The city of Ottawa gets plenty of tritium in its water from the leaking NRU reactor at the Chalk River Laboratories upstream on the Ottawa River.

Anyone can make a dirty bomb with a bit of radioactive material. It doesn't have to be an actual nuclear bomb to do great harm to people and devastation to the land, water and air. All this nuclear activity must be stopped.

CNSC is the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, the supposedly non partisan and independent body that monitors the Canadian nuclear industry. While they approve dangerous projects left and right, they also produce damning reports against nuclear development, such as their report on reactor emissions. These reports can be used against them. (see endnotes)

We just found out about CNSC's press release seeking comments on the "Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) Screening Report" for GEHitachi's nuclear expansion at Peterborough. The report is available on request from "CEAAInfo" . CNSC has extended the deadline just for us until October 21 to respond.

How many people actually heard about it? CNSC states that in the past, "No comments were received from First Nations or members of the general public". The three Indigenous communities that they say they contacted are the Alderville, Curve Lake and Hiawatha Mississaugas.

Curve Lake is on Buckhorn Lake, just north of Peterborough. Alderville and Hiawatha are on Rice Lake, south and east of Peterborough. There are Serpent Mounds at Hiawatha.

Chief Marsden of Alderville said he didn't know of it though he is quite concerned about nuclear development. We are waiting to hear back from someone at the other two communities.

Peterborough is two hours west of Sharbot Lake. GEHitachi already has a nuclear facility in Peterborough, about one hour north of Port Hope, Ontario. Peterborough is on the Otonabee River which flows into Rice Lake which feeds into the Trent River which flows into Lake Ontario near Trenton. The region is half water, an intricate network of creeks and lakes. Some call it "cottage country". The fishing is good but is it safe to eat the fish? Nuclear activity always uses and pollutes large quantities of water.

GEHitachi already makes fuel bundles and zirconium tubing for CANDU's at their Peterborough nuclear facility. They do the tricky handling of the fuel bundles getting them into the reactors. They host training sessions and write manuals. They do the computer system design and replacement and do nuclear fastener welding services. They are developing new nuclear stuff all the time.

GEHitachi also have facilities in downtown Toronto on Lansdowne Avenue where they have been testing and manufacturing nuclear products for over 50 years and in Arnprior. Hitachi, a Japanese firm and GE General Electric merged their nuclear departments in 2007 to consolidate their global nuclear reactor business. Another Japanese firm, Toshiba recently bought Westinghouse who also make reactors. It's some kind of feeding frenzy.

The CNSC report on reactor emissions shows the results of nuclear power plants release monitoring programs over a ten year period up to 2008. Nuclear power plants routinely give off large quantities of radioactive hydrogen (called tritium), radioactive carbon (carbon-14) and gamma-emitting radioactive isotopes of krypton, argon and xenon as well as smaller quantities of iodine-131 into the surrounding air and water. This is many trillions of becquerels of each of these materials being released every year. No wonder so many people are sick and can't seem to get better. Any amount of these radioactive emissions is unacceptable.

The lonely people at CNSC want to hear from us. Let's make their day by sending them our objections to the madness of nuclear development. Never mind the experts who work for a fat paycheque, forgetting about the future generations. We, both Indigenous and settlers alike, have a right and responsibility to speak out.

KITTOH

Contact Info:
CNSC
Send comments by mail, fax or email to:
Dr Caroline Ducros
Environmental Assessment Specialist
Environmental Assessment Division
Directorate of Environmental and Radiation Protection and Assessment
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
P.O. Box 1046, Station B
Ottawa, ON K1P 5S9
Phone: 1-800-668-5284
Fax: 613-995-5086
Email: EA@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca

GE Hitachi
Peterborough Fuel Bundle Assembly and Fuel Handling Operations
1160 Monaghan Road Peterborough, Ontario Canada, K9J 7B5
Phone: 705 748 7999

Toronto Fuel Pellet Operations
1025 Lansdowne Avenue Toronto, Ontario Canada, M6H 3Z6
416-583-4200

Arnprior Tubing Operations
465 McCartney St. W Arnprior, Ontario Canada, K7S 3X5
613-623-1455

Notes and Sources
http://www.ge-energy.com/prod_serv/products/nuclear_energy/en/ge_canada.htm
http://www.ccnr.org/india_tritium.html
http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/readingroom/reports/rrd/index.cfm
Radiological Release Data Report
http://www.aldervillefirstnation.ca/
http://www.curvelakefn.com/
http://www.hiawathafirstnation.com/
www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/scr/on/ofn/index-eng.asp
http://www.porthopehealthconcerns.com/latest_news.htm
"Port Hope - Canada's Nuclear Wasteland"
Pat McNamara, Author
To order the book:
Pat McNamara, RR#1, Site 10, P.O. Box 85 Grande Prairie Alberta, T8V 2Z8
http://www.wise-uranium.org/epcdn.html
http://nuclear-news.net/

[Article by KITTOH reposted from the Eagle Watch e-list:]