Oliver Paipoonge Mayor Lucy Kloosterhuis says her council will hold off mulling a potential resolution opposing the transportation of spent nuclear-fuel rods through their municipality “until after we hear both sides of the story.”
Kloosterhuis said council heard at Tuesday’s meeting from environmental-group reps who oppose the transportation of the rods, but made no decision on a resolution.
She said the municipality expects to hear from the project’s proponent, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), but no date for that presentation has been set.
There are only two more council meetings before the annual Christmas break, Kloosterhuis noted.
Under the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s plan, fuel rods would be transported by truck or rail to a proposed underground storage facility either west of Ignace, or to another candidate location in southwestern Ontario.
The latter location is near an operating nuclear power plant. Only one location will be selected.
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization has said it will announce a preferred location before the end of this year, but has not provided a specific date.
So far this year, about 10 First Nations and municipalities have adopted resolutions opposing the transportation of spent fuel rods across their boundaries.
The resolutions say the rods, which are radioactive, should be stored in the vicinity of the nuclear-power plants that use them.
There is a long history of nuclear waste being transported safely in Canada, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization has maintained.
Spent fuel rods, whether they are to be moved by truck or rail, will be sealed in specialized containers that can withstand hard impacts, fiery explosions and immersion in water, the agency has said.
