nuclear-news

Secrecy as Canada transports weapons grade uranium to USA

Canada shipping bomb-grade uranium to U.S.: memo Andy Blatchford, The Canadian Press, 27 Dec 11 MONTREAL — Weapons-grade uranium is quietly being transported within Canada, and into the United States, in shipments the country’s nuclear watchdog wants to keep cloaked in secrecy.

A confidential federal memo obtained through the Access to Information
Act says at least one payload of spent, U.S.-origin highly enriched
uranium fuel has already been moved stateside under a new Canada-U.S.
deal.

The shipments stem from the highly publicized agreement signed last
year by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama,
amid fears that nuclear-bomb-making material could fall into the hands
of terrorists.

The Canadian stash gradually being shipped from Chalk River, Ont.,
contains hundreds of kilograms of highly enriched uranium — large
enough to make several Hiroshima-sized nuclear bombs.

But even as the radioactive freight travels toward the U.S. border,
the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has no plans to hold public
hearings or disclose which communities lie along the delivery route.

The shipments themselves are protected by intense security protocol,
which means specifics like routes, transportation method, quantities
and schedules remain top secret.

The federal nuclear body, a co-regulator of the uranium transfers,
says rules restrict it from disclosing such information to the public.

A ministerial memorandum, classified as “Secret,” says the nuclear
watchdog considers it unnecessary to hold public sessions that would
allow citizens to ask questions and comment on the shipments……
http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111227/canada-uranium-shipments-federal-memo-111217/20111227/?hub=OttawaHome

December 28, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, safety, secrets,lies and civil liberties, Uranium