As the plan for the DGR became more widely recognized, several sources of opposition have built up to its construction. The two main parties who have spoken their disapproval have been the Saugeen First Nation aboriginals, and the Stop the great lake nuclear dump.
Despite the potential of nuclear power for providing clean energy, much skepticism still exists surrounding its use. The catastrophic disasters of Chernobyl in April 1986 and most recently the Fukushima Daiichi accident in March 2011 have raised many concerns over the impact and after effects of any accident that may occur. The Chernobyl disaster in particular caused massive long-term impacts such as the development of cancers.
The opposition that exists to the OPG’s plans is mostly centered on damage to Lake Huron and surrounding areas if the nuclear waste was to leak into the nearby environment. Crops, food and drinking water for 40 million people would be contaminated, the lake would become unsafe to use and the health of local citizens would be drastically affected. The parties involved believe that protecting the great lakes should be held at a higher priority.
Chief Vernon Roote of the Saugeen First Nation spoke to me regarding his people’s opposition to the planned DGR.
The “Stop the great lakes nuclear dump” movement has been very progressive in its efforts to propose an alternate resolution to the DGR. Over the past three years since its formation, it has obtained the support of several key figures including Senator Phil Pavlov of the Michigan State Senate. I reached out to the movement founder Beverly Fernandez for comment, but she was unavailable at the time of producing this multimedia project. Arguing that there is no guarantee that a nuclear leak will never occur, the movement and its supporters support this by stating that no computer model or environmental investigation can ever predict what will happen over 100,000 years when some nuclear waste materials will still be undergoing decay.
“It is our duty to protect them for current and future generations. Our lives and our livelihoods depend upon the great lakes” Congressman Dan Killdee of Michigan
STGLND believes, to quote from their website “the protection of our Great Lakes from buried radioactive nuclear waste is responsible stewardship, and is of national and international importance”. They also argue that there has been an almost complete lack of awareness among both Canadian and American citizens of the OPG’s plan. Their goal is to raise recognition, earning further support to be forwarded to the Canadian government.
The final part of this feature will summarize the reasons for support and opposition to the project, as well as offer a poll to cast your opinion on the DGR.
(DGR Site image sourced from http://stopthegreatlakesnucleardump.com/nuclearwastedump.php)
Nuclear Disposal Lake Huron 