nuclear-news

LINCOLN — As shipments of highly radioactive nuclear waste begin making their way through the Niagara region, a local group is bringing in an expert to address what they say are some unanswered questions.

The Niagara District Council of Women will be welcoming Gordon Edwards to a meeting this Friday at Lincoln town hall. Edwards is a nuclear critic and president of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, a non-profit group that focuses on military and civilian uses of nuclear, as well as non-nuclear alternatives.

Earlier this year a U.S. judge approved a plan to have nuclear waste transported from a research facility in Chalk River, Ont. through Niagara and across the Peace Bridge to Buffalo. The U.S. Department of Energy plans to import nearly 23,000 litres, or 6,000 gallons, of the waste.

According to the NDCW, many unanswered questions remain, including the nature of the liquid radioactive material, historical precedence for such transportation, possible alternatives and concerns over leakage or other dangers.

The meeting is expected to run from 9 a.m. to noon at town hall, 4800 South Service Rd. in Beamsville. For more information on the meeting, contact Gracia Janes at 905-468-2841, Ann Porter Bonilla at 905-973-1621 or Susan Pruyn at 905-892-5206.