Sludge Watch ==> Plan to dump radioactive tritium into Ottawa River

[Maureen Reilly]

Plan to dump radioactive tritium into Ottawa  River

recommended by staff at Canada's nuclear  agency



(Ottawa,  Ontario)  Ottawa's tap water will  soon get an extra hit of a 
radioactive waste material - tritium - from SRB  Technologies in Pembroke, 
unless the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC)  rejects the 
recommend-ations of its staff.  On the weekend, CNSC staff released  what 
nuclear watchdog groups are calling its "worst recommendations ever" in 
preparation for the November 27th hearing on SRB's application for  a 
renewed license.



Tritium is a  hazardous waste byproduct from CANDU reactors.  SRB uses it to 
manufacture  glow-in-the-dark exit signs. But the company has been unable to 
monitor and  control its emissions. Each year, it releases more tritium than 
any of  Canada's nuclear power stations. Indeed, in two years out of the 
past eight,  according to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, SRB 
released more tritium  than all of Canada's nuclear power stations 
combined.



Tritium is a  radioactive form of hydrogen which persists in the environment 
for  decades.  It is readily  incorporated into biological tissues of all 
kinds. It can cause cancer,  genetic mutations, malformed fetuses and other 
health problems. SRB  has severely contaminated the  environment and 
groundwater in the City of Pembroke with tritium.  The levels are thousands 
of times  higher than background - far in excess of Canada's drinking water 
guideline.  Contamination levels  in Pembroke are so high that it will take 
a century for them to return to  background levels.



Despite this  dismal record, and the legal obligation to limit risks "to the 
health and  safety of persons and the environment", CNSC staff are 
recommending that the  licence for the polluting SRB plant be renewed. 
Moreover, CNSC staff are endorsing an  SRB proposal to collect radioactive 
stack drippings and contaminated  groundwater and run them through the 
Pembroke sewer system directly into the  Ottawa River -- a source of 
drinking water for millions of Canadians in Quebec  and Ontario.  Scientific 
bodies  have shown that there is no safe level of exposure to radioactive 
materials  and urge that all unnecessary exposures be  avoided.



According to  Dr. Ole Hendrickson, Researcher for Concerned Citizens of 
Renfrew County, CNSC  staff's recommendations are irrational and clearly not 
based on science.  "Despite SRB's abysmal compliance history, CNSC staff are 
now recommending a  new 18-month license, lifting all restrictions under 
which the company has  been operating for the past 11 months, and giving a 
green light to dump  radioactive tritium into the Ottawa River"



A brief for  the upcoming licensing hearing prepared by Ottawa Riverkeeper, 
Meredith Brown,  emphasizes the need to protect water resources. "It is 
simply unacceptable to  use the Ottawa River as a sewer for disposal of 
nuclear waste" Brown  stated.  "This is a real blast  from the past, when 
dilution was considered the solution to  pollution."



Dr. Gordon  Edwards, President of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear 
Responsibility, said  "The Commission is getting bad advice from its staff. 
The people responsible for these  recommendations should be fired." Edwards 
stated that granting SRB a new  license would be a betrayal of the public 
trust and a violation of the law  that established the Canadian Nuclear 
Safety Commission in the first  place.



30  --



Contacts:             Gordon Edwards, (514) 839 7214 (cell), ccnr at web.ca

Lynn Jones, (613) 735-4876 / (613) 735-6444, ljones at nrtco.net

Marc Chénier, (514) 527-2712, mchenier at videotron.ca


============================================================


Gordon Edwards, Ph.D.,  President,

Canadian Coalition for Nuclear  Responsibility.

Regroupement pour la surveillance du  nucl�aire,

c.p. 236 Station Snowdon Montreal H3X  3T4

internet: http://ccnr.org

fax: (514) 489 5118