Waterkeeper makes recommendations for improvements to Canadian radioactive waste management policy
Pippa Feinstein is a Toronto-based lawyer, researcher, and mediator focussed on environmental and social justice who has worked with Lake Ontario Waterkeeper to safeguard Lake Ontario.
For 20 years, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper has been the leading voice on nuclear issues and threats to Great Lakes drinking water. Years ago, the Darlington nuclear plant killed 18 million fish a year due to an out of date cooling system. Lake Ontario’s advocacy has led to rebuilding improvements at the Darlington and Pickering nuclear stations to reduce the effect of nuclear waste on fish and the health of the lake that is a site for swimming, drinking, and fishing water for Ontarians.
Protecting Lake Ontario from nuclear waste is more important now than ever. As growing numbers of people take refuge in the lake’s waters during the Covid-19 pandemic, we must ensure that these waters are protected by Canada’s radioactive waste management policy.
On November 16, 2020 Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) launched the current public consultation to modernize Canada’s radioactive waste management policy. Lake Ontario Waterkeeper submits the following comments with the hopes that NRCan will modernize the Canadian radioactive waste management policy to protect Lake Ontario’s water quality.
Since its inception, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper has been fighting for environmentally-responsible radioactive waste regulation and policy. Lake Ontario Waterkeeper draws on its experience with waste issues in Port Hope to inform its feedback to NRCan.
The current modernization process for nuclear waste must better protect the watershed and all those who rely on a healthy Lake Ontario for their drinking water and recreation spaces.
Here are Lake Ontario Waterkeeper’s recommendations for improvements to Canadian radioactive waste management policy.
Issue 1: Guiding principles for modernized Canadian radioactive waste management policy must be more consistent with Canadian Environmental law
General Recommendation: Canada’s modernized policy should be consistent with Canadian environmental law, including pollution prevention, precautionary approaches, and attention to cumulative environmental impacts of radioactive waste. It should also recognize the public’s right to know about the health of their local waterways and how nuclear waste may impact them.
Issue 2: Policy concerning waste storage and disposal should ensure public access to environmental data
General Recommendation: Canada’s modernized policy should require that industry and regulators conduct comprehensive environmental monitoring of all contaminant pathways from waste areas and facilities and make the environmental monitoring data publicly available.
Issue 3: Policy concerning waste disposal should better distinguish between industry and regulators’ roles concerning waste acceptance criteria and waste characterization
General Recommendation: Canada’s modernized policy should offer more guidance on waste classification and waste acceptance criteria, and not leave these to industry to determine. Regulators should also develop more science-based thresholds for levels of radioactive waste to replace any graded approaches to the applicability of its regulations.
Issue 4: The need for greater interjurisdictional coordination concerning radioactive waste oversight and regulation
General Recommendation: Canada’s modernized policy should include more formal agreements between the multiple government agencies and jurisdictions that regulate environmental aspects of radioactive waste. Further, when there are differing release limits for certain contaminants in jurisdictions, the stricter limit should be adhered to.
Download Waterkeeper’s recommendations here.