Peters Statement on Joint Review Panel Report on Canadian Nuclear Waste Site
Proposed Nuclear Dump Site Threatens Great Lakes
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) today released the following statement after the Joint Review Panel, a Canadian government advisory board, announced the final environmental assessment report for a proposed permanent nuclear waste storage facility near Kincardine, Ontario, less than a mile from Lake Huron. Last month, Peters helped introduce a resolution urging the Obama Administration to oppose the proposal:
“The Great Lakes are critical to Michigan’s environment and our economy, and we must ensure we are protecting their health and safety for generations to come. Building a permanent nuclear waste dump so close to Lake Huron puts this vital resource at risk.
“The Great Lakes support our multi-billion dollar shipping, fishing, agricultural and tourism industries, and contamination to our Great Lakes could cause catastrophic, long-lasting damage to this precious resource. As the largest source of surface freshwater in the world, the Great Lakes provide drinking water for more than 40 million people in Canada and the United States. If the Great Lakes were contaminated, it could take tens of thousands of years for highly toxic nuclear waste to decompose to safe levels.
“As a member of the Great Lakes Task Force, I’m dedicated to working with my colleagues in Congress and the Obama Administration to stop this project from moving forward and to find a responsible alternative location for this storage site that does not put the health and safety of our Great Lakes in jeopardy.”
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