nuclear-news

Court action in Canada over approval for nuclear reactors

 federal environmental assessment (EA) of the new reactors is flawed for several reasons, including:

• it failed to examine a specific reactor or cooling water technology;
• it failed to consider the long-term environmental effects of radioactive waste; and
• it failed to look at alternatives to the project, such as green energy…..

 Environmentalists go to court to halt new Ontario nuclear reactors, Northumberland View, Sep 29, 2011  Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, Canadian Environmental Law Association, Greenpeace Canada, and Ecojustice, Waterkeeper.ca Weekly

Risks to Lake Ontario and surrounding communities unclear after flawed assessment

— Environmental groups have asked a federal court to stop government agencies from approving construction of new nuclear reactors at Darlington until an environmental assessment is fully completed and shows the project won’t negatively impact the environment or human health as required by law.

“The Fukushima nuclear disaster has been a global wake-up call on the risks posed by nuclear power, but here in Canada our authorities have pretended these risks don’t exist. In light of Fukushima, Canadian environmental protection laws must be respected before the next Ontario government can proceed with new reactors,” said Shawn-Patrick Stensil, a nuclear analyst with Greenpeace.

Lawyers with Ecojustice and the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA), on behalf of Greenpeace Canada, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, CELA, and Northwatch, filed an application for judicial review with the Federal Court of Canada. The application states that the federal environmental assessment (EA) of the new reactors is flawed for several reasons, including:

• it failed to examine a specific reactor or cooling water technology;
• it failed to consider the long-term environmental effects of radioactive waste; and
• it failed to look at alternatives to the project, such as green energy…..

October 1, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, Legal