e-1215 (Hazardous products)

Petition to the Government of Canada

• The nuclear regulators of Canada and the United States have approved the shipment of 23,000 litres of highly radioactive liquid – to be trucked over 2000 kilometres from Chalk River, Ontario to the Savannah River Site in South Carolina;
• These shipments are to utilize casks never physically tested for liquid contents;
• The nature of the liquid material has been mischaracterized by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) as “Uranyl Nitrate Liquid,” whereas the liquid solution contains dozens of radioactive waste materials collectively more than a thousand times more radioactive than uranyl nitrate;
• This project is projected to consist of between 100 and 150 truckloads over a period of several years;
• There is considerable opposition to this project in both countries by both citizens and elected officials;
• Calculations show that one litre of this liquid is sufficient, in principle, to ruin the drinking water supply for any city in North America;
• There is no need for these shipments, given that the highly enriched uranium can be eliminated by “downblending” at the Chalk River site; and
• The radioactive liquid can also be solidified at the Chalk River site as has been done for similar radioactive liquids at Chalk River over the past 14 years.