Lake Huron nuclear waste plan opposed by Thunder Bay mayor

A Canadian environmental assessment of plans to bury hazardous nuclear material near the shore of Lake Huron is "incomplete" because it didn't look at other disposal options, away from the Great Lakes, according to Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs.

The plan by Ontario Power Generation calls for hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of so-called low and intermediate level nuclear waste to be buried 680 metres underground the bedrock at the Bruce nuclear plant near Kincardine, Ont. 

The 430-page report on the proposed deep geological repository or DGR — released late Wednesday — finds little risk to the lake and says the project "is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects."

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But scientists "don't always get it right," said Hobbs.

He's adding his voice to more than 100 other communities that have condemned the plan, many with specific concerns about the proximity of the waste to Great Lakes.

"All we're saying is look at better ways to do it, look at areas that are away from a water source,"  Hobbs said. "They haven't looked at other options, so their work is incomplete."

Proponents of the plan argue the rock on Huron's shore is geologically stable and would provide a hermetic seal to prevent any radioactivity reaching the lake, about 1.2 kilometres away, for tens of thousands of years.

Regulators should look at burying this nuclear material in the same place it determines safe for the most dangerous high-level waste, Hobbs said.

Several northern Ontario towns are taking part in a Nuclear Waste Management Organization process to host the spent nuclear fuel that powers nuclear reactors.

"For example, Ignace is in the hunt for high level nuclear waste and they're not near a water source and they have the geology as well, so what I'm suggesting is why not put all the waste there," Hobbs said.

But critics say transporting the nuclear waste will present its own hazards, including the risk of a spill. Still, Hobbs believes it's a better option.

"There will always be safety concerns and you can never guarantee that something won't happen," he said. "But I would rather something happen away from the Great Lakes that provides water for 22 million people."

The federal environment minister now has four months to approve or reject OPG's plan.