Dear Editor,
Storage of nuclear waste in our landscape is of concern for all who want to see it done safely and securely. Hearing both sides of the issue is imperative and I’m glad our Community Liaison Committee (CLC) has obtained funding to bring a top opponent, Dr. Edwards, here for a public meeting. The Reminder has done us all a service giving space to both sides.
I read Dr. Gordon Edwards’s letter in Monday’s Reminder several times in an effort to understand his point of view.
His opening paragraph states that NWMO believes waste is formed by further reprocessing of spent nuclear material, and he says they are wrong.
Here are his words: “Mike Krizanc of NWMO is wrong to say that reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel creates nuclear waste.”
Dr. Edwards then goes on to describe the products of reprocessing: “Radioactive gases and liquids [which] will escape into the environment.” So was the first statement a typing error?
In his final paragraph, Dr. Edwards says, “Citizens have a right to know what kind of health and environmental problems reprocessing could involve.”
You bet we do, Dr. Edwards. We are a widespread community with deep roots in this land.
But NWMO has rejected reprocessing as being too risky. If it ever comes up, I will join the same public discourse currently underway with waste storage.
But nuclear waste storage is under discussion now and I hope Dr. Edwards will stick to this subject when he comes here, because waste improperly stored is unacceptable in anyone’s backyard.
It disturbs me that his assertion about gas in irradiated bundles leads into a fourth paragraph on the dangers of reprocessing, without stating his change in subject.
On first read, he appears to be asserting that this will be the result of storage, not reprocessing. Clarity in a discussion of this importance is paramount. Without it we can create misunderstanding and fear.
I believe I speak for our community when I say to all sides in the nuclear waste storage debate: We neither want to have the wool pulled over our eyes by smart academic talk, nor
be bamboozled by cloudy information and innuendo.
You demonstrate your respect for us and
our descendents by speaking with clarity and honesty.
Thank you.
