| Senators fear
Ontario nuke site Levin, Stabenow tell Powell they're concerned about expanding facility By Tony Manolatos / The Detroit News Friday, October 25, 2002 WASHINGTON - In a letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell last week, Michigan's senators outlined concerns with the expansion of the Bruce nuclear complex on the shoreline of Lake Huron in Ontario. On Wednesday, Canadian nuclear regulators approved 2,000 new storage casks for the Bruce complex in Tiverton, Ontario. The casks more than double the complex's ability to store high-level nuclear waste to about 35,000 tons. In July, The Detroit News reported there are 14,000 tons of high-level waste stored at Bruce, the world's largest nuclear plant, 150 miles northeast of Detroit. There are less than 2,000 tons of high-level waste stored at Michigan's three nuclear plants. The additional storage containers at Bruce concern Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow enough that each wants Powell to contact the Canadian government. In their letter, the senators asked Powell to discuss the issue at the next Canadian-United States bilateral meeting. "In the wake of the events of (9-11) the establishment of such a high-profile (facility) needs to be thoroughly evaluated," the letter said. "Given the importance of the Great Lakes to tens of millions of Canadian and U.S. citizens Š special consideration needs to be given to the potential environmental impacts of such a large radioactive waste site." The State Department received the letter last week and is drafting a response, a spokeswoman said. The waste at Bruce is secure, said Ken Nash, vice president of nuclear waste for Ontario Power Generation, which owns and operates the Western Waste Management Facility at Bruce. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency inspected the new casks before the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission licensed them, Nash said. You can reach Tony Manolatos at (586) 468-0520 or tmanolatos@detnews.com. |