No such thing as ‘absolutely safe’ reactor

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/03/2023 (947 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Plans are underway to build another nuclear reactor in the Whiteshell region. Quietly, the operators of the Pinawa site, who are attempting to restore lands befouled by decades of primitive practices, are rallying support for our province’s newest reactor.

The nuclear topic can be confusing and technical, not suited to a two-second sound bite, and too onerous to be covered by inexperienced reporters. Most local media have “ghosted” the issue instead of ethically presenting Manitobans with the facts in an unvarnished manner.

Ultimately, do we want yet another reactor in our province, next to the Winnipeg River, that will contribute to the existing legacy of radioactive waste?

Silence is golden to Canadian Nuclear Labs (CNL), operators of the Pinawa site who want to avoid any controversy related to this development. The Local Government District of Pinawa has partnered with Starcore Nuclear to develop a reactor on the site and has established relations with provincial officials and Manitoba Hydro, who have refused to reveal the nature of their discussions.

Starcore claims its reactor is absolutely safe, rallying support from rural municipalities, school divisions and, strangely, the Republic of Indonesia, a notorious human-rights violator.

Toxic contamination at the Pinawa site is extensive, and the hope it will be returned to its original state has now disappeared.

Plans have changed and decisions have been made to leave a number of polluted areas as they are, or in situ, to avoid stirring up radioactive poisons.

These include contaminated unlined trenches, sediment in the Winnipeg River and the remnants of the WR1 reactor, which is to be backfilled with a type of concrete. The tainted groundwater as a result of highly radioactive materials in the Waste Management Area will require monitoring for generations to come.

The province no longer fulfils its watchdog responsibilities, as its technical advisory committee has been disbanded, leaving CNL without local scrutiny.

Climate change is no longer in the rearview mirror; it is present and the planet is on a collision course with a desperate need for decarbonization. The push for nuclear as a solution is driven by an industry whose impractical ideas are consumed by a population hoping for a technological fix.

The hard economic reality is that small modular reactors (SMRs) will require millions in subsidies, decades to complete the prototypes, dozens of communities to accept and purchase them, and a viable high-level waste solution, of which there is none.

Mini-reactors are an expensive distraction from proven methods of addressing climate change, and they are chewing up scarce tax dollars, including $121 million in the last federal budget.

The Canadian Nuclear Association last year lobbied federal government officials for SMR funding on average once a week, and continues to divert political attention from real solutions.

One of the world’s leading financial advisors, Lazard, concluded nuclear power plants are exorbitantly expensive to build, often wind up well over budget and are tremendously undependable. Lazard estimates the cost of solar and wind generation to be one-fifth the cost of nuclear reactors.

A reasonable use of the Pinawa site would be to locate and demonstrate sustainable renewable-energy solutions and, in turn, power the town and surrounding area.

Contamination of the Pinawa site may never be resolved, and Manitobans should have a say over whether they want yet another reactor to defile our land and water.

Our provincial environment department should be monitoring changes in the decommissioning plan with oversight instead of cheerleading a new reactor.

Those making spurious claims that a new reactor will be absolutely safe, clean and green would be wise consider the impact of the Manitoba’s first two reactors.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Dave Taylor has been a regular contributor to the Winnipeg Free Press on environmental issues for decades.