Dear Editor,
I read with interest the interview with Dr. Gordon Edwards in Wednesday’s Reminder.
Dr. Edwards offers criticism of the plan to bury existing nuclear waste without offering any tangible solution to something that is an existing problem.
When asked by The Reminder what would be the ideal solution to storage of existing waste, he replied that ideally the radioactive rods would be neutralized, but science hasn’t determined how to do that just yet. Wow, that is a really helpful solution!
Failing that, Edwards advocates leaving the material on surface where it is. The reason that is not part of the plan is that security of a surface location is problematic and there is strong evidence that North America will be subjected to another period of glaciation within the 100,000-year-time frame of the waste storage program.
Edwards also comments about the state of the pyramids after 5,000 years. I think that the pyramids are in remarkably good shape after that length of time. They have been subjected to the vagaries of weather, marauding armies and archeologists and they continue to confound us with new information!
There is no reason to suppose that a carefully selected underground repository constructed with modern materials would not be even more resilient, and secure, than these ancient marvels.
Edwards also alludes to various environmental disasters resulting from sloppy disposal of toxic materials. Believe me, we are all horrified by what happened at Love Canal, Sarnia and in the Black Sea, but these events were all the result of unregulated dumping, a very different proposition from that being advocated in Canada for nuclear waste storage.
Advances in our society are made by learning from the past. The stringent security and environmental rules surrounding Canada’s nuclear waste disposal program are a reflection of these lessons.
Whatever our views on nuclear energy, the fact remains that there is nuclear waste in Canada and it is our responsibility to our descendants to store it safely. The status quo no longer cuts it.
Although, I am a member of the Creighton Liaison Committee,
the above is my own opinion.
Thank you.
