LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP CALLS FOR END TO LOW-LEVEL

RADIOACTIVE WASTE SITING PROCESS

PEMBROKE, Ontario, February 18, 1994 - An Ottawa Valley environmental group, Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County (CCRC), is accusing the federally funded "Siting Task Force on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management" of wasting $17 million of "Green Plan" funds in a public relations exercise that will aggravate Ontario's radioactive waste problems.

CCRC terms the process to find a new home for leaking radioactive waste sites in the Port Hope area "an abuse of environmental assessment". The Siting Task Force has refused to consider the safest long-term waste management option, monitored retrievable storage. In excluding this option, it is bowing to a nuclear industry preference for "permanent disposal".

The Siting Task Force is manipulating a supposedly public process to allow Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd. (AECL) to move more wastes to their Chalk River site. This "solution" for the Port Hope wastes would only increase problems at AECL Chalk River. AECL already has several leaking waste sites, including one with Port Hope wastes shipped in the late 1970's.

CCRC charges that shipping more wastes to Chalk River will increase short-term and long-term costs to taxpayers. Long-distance transport of the Port Hope wastes is an unnecessary short-term cost of $30-50 million. Creating a new Chalk River waste site that does not address serious existing problems there will increase long-term costs as well.

To restore a credible environmental assessment process, the Siting Task Force would have to i) show that no suitable waste storage sites are available in the Port Hope area; ii) offer communities along proposed waste transport routes indemnification against accidents, increased traffic and other damages; and iii) fully compensate communities located downstream of proposed new waste sites for increased health risks, required alterations of water supply infrastructure, and related costs. Furthermore, existing waste problems should be addressed before importing additional wastes to any proposed new site.

CCRC believes that the Siting Task Force has no intention of carrying out a credible process of environmental assessment and community compensation. It urges the new Liberal government to terminate the flawed process created by the Tories. Remaining funds should be used for a public panel review to expedite construction of retrievable storage facilities near where the Port Hope wastes are currently located.