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Several First Nations and environmental advocates have criticized Canada’s nuclear regulator’s decision to give the green light to a proposed nuclear waste near the Ottawa River.
Following an environmental assessment, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has legalized the structure of a waste control facility at the state-run Chalk River Laboratories, which oversees nuclear generation in Deep River, Ontario, about 180 kilometres northwest of Ottawa.
The site sits within a kilometre of the Ottawa River, on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg peoples.
Kebaowek First Nation councillor Justin Roy, whose community is located on the other side of the Ottawa River, said his First Nation and others are reviewing the regulator’s decision and will consider all options, including asking for judicial review.
“We are not going to leave any stone unturned in relation to this project,” he said.
The regulator said in its approval announced this week that the project is “not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.”
Roy said the allocation would lead to negative environmental effects, adding to the deforestation of about 40 hectares of old-growth forests and endangering several animal species, including black bears and eastern wolves.
“We know there will be a number of environmental effects,” he said.
He said the approval also violates Canada’s commitments to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which requires the free, prior and informed consent of an Indigenous network before any advancement on their ancestral lands.
The Canadian Environmental Law Association, which participated in the process, said it regretted the regulator’s decision.
Executive Director Theresa McClenaghan said her organization is concerned that radioactive contaminants could seep into surrounding wetlands and into the nearby Ottawa River.
“The design of this facility is equivalent to a normal family landfill and we know that such facilities end up leaking into the environment,” McClenaghan said.
“Given that this facility is proposed to involve radioactive contaminants that would be dangerous for thousands of years, CELA is very concerned that the nuclear regulator has given the green light to this task. “
The proposed facility includes a synthetic containment mound, wastewater treatment plant and other relief facilities, and is expected to have an operational life of at least 50 years.
It will have the capacity to hold up to one million cubic metres of low-level radioactive waste.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission submitted its environmental assessment in 2016, but First Nations said the assessment was not culturally relevant, prompting them to publish their own report in June, which noted that the domain around the Chalk River had never been ceded through the Anishinaabeg people. they were consulted when the original site of Chalk River Laboratories evolved in the 1940s.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on January 11, 2024.
Maan Alhmidi, Canadian Press
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