PEACEWORK - every step counts

Hi all, due to family, health and busyness issues, Lynn and I have not been keeping in touch with you via the UNews as often as we would like.  This is kind of a catch-up post, as we want you to know, in particular, about the first five items - events happening in October in Ottawa, Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto and London during October.  As well, I’ve included many interesting articles that have come across my desk in recent months. Thanks to Dr. Gordon Edwards for his forwards/comments and for his ongoing
efforts to keep the nuclear industry honest and the rest of us educated. (Apologies in advance for the formatting difficulties that seem to be plaguing me.)
1) NUCLEAR PROTEST PICKET: October 25 + 26

The Council for Clean and Reliable Electricity, thought to be a front group for the nuclear industry, promotes nuclear power as a “clean, affordable and reliable source’ of electricity.”

They are holding a conference on nuclear power in Ottawa on October 25 and 26.  The group openly states that their role is to influence public policy and decision-makers.  The speakers and panelists at this forum for “open discussion” are all in favour of nuclear power.

With this in mind, there will be a protest picket in front of the Ottawa Hampton Inn at Vanier Parkway and Coventry Road to highlight the nuclear lobby’s deception.

More info: Wolfe Erlichman
cerlichman@yahoo.com
613-273-3986
_________________________
2) DR. HELEN CALDICOTT TO SPEAK IN TORONTO, PETERBOROUGH, KINGSTON AND LONDON
Australian Physician, Author, Educator, Activist, Dr. Caldicott will be in Canada from Oct. 13 to Oct. 16
Oct. 13, noon at Great Hall, Hart House on the University of Toronto Campus - Free
Oct. 14, 7 p.m. at Showplace Performance Centre, Peterborough - $20.00
Oct. 15, 8 p.m.
at the Etherinton Auditorium,
Queens University Campus,
94 Stuart St., in Kingston
free admission, donations appreciated.

Sponsored by Kingston Physicians for Global Survival, The Sisters of Providence (JPIC office) and The Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU)
As the subject of the National Film Board of Canada’s Oscar winning documentary “If you love this planet,” Dr. Helen Caldicott inspired a generation to work towards nuclear disarmament.  Dr. Caldicott continues her mission with her most recent books, “Nuclear Power is not the Answer” and “War in Heaven.”  As the world struggles with the nuclear question, Dr. Caldicott will address the greatest immediate threat to the planet with passion, vision and clarity.  Info at: http://www.helencaldicott.com/index.htm

Oct. 16, 3:30 p.m. Natural Science Centre 1, Univ. of Western Ontario, London - Free.
_________________________
3) ATOMIC ACCOMPLICE: HOW CANADA DEALS IN DEADLY DECEIT

A New Book by Paul McKay; Foreword by David Suzuki

A new book by award-winning investigative journalist Paul McKay exposes Canada’s continuing role in abetting atomic arms proliferation. It was released just as Stephen Harper’s international trade minister Stockwell Day arrived in India seeking new CANDU reactor sales, and Saskatchewan’s Cameco Corp. established a uranium sales office there.
India used a Canadian reactor to produce plutonium for its first atomic bomb in 1974, and has since built an atomic and hydrogen bomb arsenal. India has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a comprehensive test ban protocol, or commit to atomic arms reductions. Canada cut off all nuclear assistance to India after the 1974 blast, yet reversed that policy recently to facilitate reactor and uranium sales.
In late September, India officially announced that it will begin exporting “breeder” reactors, cloned from the CANDU design, which will dramatically increase the production and global flows of plutonium.
“While most world leaders are seeking an exit strategy from the atomic arms race, Canada is underwriting an encore,” says McKay. “It is still selling essentially unsafeguardable reactors, increasing global flows of uranium, and even undermining the NPT by courting countries like India which flaunt non-proliferation efforts.”
“Using potential sales contracts as bait, India has cleverly negotiated a ’see-no-evil’ arrangement which allows it to pick and choose which nuclear reactors and fuels are declared peaceful or military,” says McKay. “This is exactly what North Korea and Iran are emulating. Our Parliament would be in an uproar if we sought CANDU or uranium sales to them.”
“Instead of upholding the atomic embargo against India, as Australia has, Ottawa is rewarding its past betrayal with increased nuclear business. That’s the worst message to send to other rogue states.”
Atomic Accomplice carefully traces the genesis of the CANDU reactor back to the World War Two Manhattan Project, showing that it was initially designed as a prolific plutonium producer and that this technical ‘DNA’ — which India exploited in 1974 - has been embedded in all CANDU exports to date. A typical CANDU, like those sold to Argentina, South Korea or China, produces about 400 kilograms of plutonium annually for decades. It takes less than 10 kilograms to make an atomic weapon.
Atomic Accomplice also calculates the proliferation peril posed by Canada’s current annual uranium exports of 7.3 million kilograms. Due to laws of physics, these annual exports embed 52,000 kilograms of uranium-235, and 19,000 kilograms of plutonium. This is enough to make about 5,000 atomic warheads each year.
The final chapters in the book expose the flaws of nuclear advocates who claim that Canadian reactor and uranium exports are a vital measure to combat catastrophic climate change, and can solve energy and poverty problems in developing countries. It documents how actual energy output from global investments in diverse renewable projects has recently outpaced those of new nuclear plants, and that the advent of commercial hydrogen-storage hybrid technologies can deliver more power, faster, and at lower cost than nuclear.
“By continuing to bankroll reactor and uranium exports, Canada is courting calamity in two ways: by increasing the potential for atomic proliferation, and by diverting precious support for safer, more sensible and sustainable energy alternatives.”
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR “ATOMIC ACCOMPLICE”
“This meticulously researched book makes it clear why non-proliferation treaties and international inspection agencies are failing to prevent the increase in nations with nuclear arms, many using Canadian uranium and Canadian nuclear technology.”
` David Suzuki, Scientist and broadcaster
“Far from our image of a “boy scout” nation working to promote a more peaceful world, McKay uncovers a side of Canadian public policy driven by greed, secrecy, deceit and a willingness to put global safety at risk for the sake of commercial opportunity.”
` Peter Prebble, Former Saskatchewan Cabinet Minister, MLA
“This is an impeccably detailed account of Canada’s role in arming the world with nuclear technologies and fuels, from the first moments of the arms race to today’s rogue states and their bitter rivalries.”
` Bilbo Poynter, Executive Director, Canadian Centre for Investigative Reporting
“Atomic Accomplice is informed by in-depth research, fired by passionate conviction, and peppered with journalistic one-liners. A thorough and fair-minded primer on the politics of nuclear technology versus renewable alternatives, it is a powerful page turner.”
` Maxine Ruvinsky, Chair, School of Journalism, Thompson Rivers University
Author of “Investigative Reporting in Canada”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paul McKay has won Canada’s top journalism awards for investigative, magazine and business writing. The author of five books, he is also a past winner of the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy, and a Pierre Berton writer-in-residence. He has written for the Ottawa Citizen, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, Harrowsmith, Maclean’s Magazine, and CBC television and radio documentaries. Web: www.paulmckay.com
_________________________
4) ONTARIO HAS AN OPTION:
From: Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Sent: Monday, July 13, 2009 5:31 PM
The Ontario government has hit the ball into Prime Minister Harper’s court, proposing that taxpayers across the country subsidize new nuclear power reactors for Ontario. Imagine that – taxes going up in Montreal, Calgary and Halifax to cover new nukes for Ontario!
But Ontario has cleaner, greener and cheaper alternatives to keeping the lights on. We don’t need to sink more dollars into nuclear. Can you help us get the word out?

Our new pamphlet  Ontario has an option:
Plentiful Clean and Green Power is Lower Cost and Lower Risk Than Nuclear tells the story in a nutshell.  Clean power options can provide more than three times the electricity needed to replace Ontario’s aging nuclear reactors, at far lower cost.

Help us spread the message across the country that Ontario wants green power, not nuclear, and that more taxpayer-funded subsidies for nuclear (whatever government they come from) are the last thing we should be considering given our current financial circumstances.

Order pamphlets to deliver to your friends, families, groups, etc. by clicking here.  They’re free! Each pamphlet contains a postcard to be sent to our Prime Minister, and another to be sent to Ontario’s Energy Minister.

With your help we can ensure that thousands get sent in to our elected officials. Speak up now before any new contracts are signed.

Thanks for your help!  Please pass this message on to your friends.
Jessica Fracassi, Communications & Membership Director
Ontario Clean Air Alliance
402-625 Church St, Toronto M4Y 2G1
Phone: 416-926-1907 ext. 245
Fax: 416-926-1601
Email: jessica@cleanairalliance.org
Website: www.cleanairalliance.org
Website: www.OntariosGreenFuture.ca

The Ontario Clean Air Alliance is a diverse, multi-stakeholder coalition of approximately 90 organizations including cities, health associations, environmental and public interest groups, corporations, public utilities, unions, faith communities and individuals.  The OCAA’s short term goal is to achieve the complete phase out of Ontario’s four coal-fired power plants by 2010.  Our long term goal is to ensure that all of our electricity needs are met by ecologically sustainable renewable sources. Our partner organizations represent more than six million Ontarians.

Interested in volunteering with the OCAA?
Please contact Angela Bischoff at angela@cleanairalliance.org, 416-926-1907 ext. 246.
Sign our petition: http://www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca/petition.php.

If you are on Facebook, please consider joining our group.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to this list, please visit
http://www.cleanairalliance.org/bulletins_email_signup.
_________________________
5) YOUTUBE 9-PART SERIES: GORDON EDWARDS SPEAKING AT U OF ALBERTA 2008
http://rbcc.ca/Gordon-Edwards-videos.shtml
_________________________
CANADA: NUCLEAR WASTE IN YOUR BACKYARD?
Decision on Canadian storage facility expected within a year

Brian Kemp, CBC News, August 19, 2009

The $24-billion question about nuclear waste storage in Canada is this:
in which community will more than two million high-level radioactive bundles
be stored for perhaps 10,000 years or more?

This question is posed as experts try to avoid a repeat of a failed attempt at resolving
the storage issue 10 years ago in Canada and consider what is happening in Europe
and in the U.S., where a nuclear waste storage plan recently died after billions of
dollars were wasted. As well, there is now the consideration that the waste may not
be buried for thousands of years and left where it is, and that future generations and
their plans should be considered.

article at: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/08/19/f-nuclear-waste-storage-options.html
_________________________
Comment by Gordon Edwards:
Nuclear proponents in Canada have argued that our CANDU nuclear technology is  “proliferation-resistant”, meaning that it does not provide opportunities for nation-states to divert materials from the CANDU “natural uranium fuel cycle” for use in nuclear weapons.
First of all, they say, the use of natural uranium as a fuel for CANDU reactors means that uranium enrichment facilities are not needed.  Uranium enrichment is a very sensitive and proliferation-prone technology, because any nation-state that can enrich uranium to a low degree for reactor fuel (LEU = low-enriched uranium), can also choose to enrich uranium to a high degree for use as a nuclear explosive (HEU = highly-enriched uranium). Because CANDU reactors use natural, un-enriched uranium as fuel, this entire problem is circumvented.
Secondly, Canadian nuclear proponents say that the plutonium that is routinely produced in every CANDU reactor is not accessible for weapons use because it is embedded in the fiercely radioactive used fuel bundles, which cannot be handled without robotic equipment.  Moreover, they argue that the quality of the plutonium produced in a nuclear power reactor (CANDU or otherwise) is not ideal for bomb-making purposes and therefore would not be chosen by any “sensible” nation-state.
But judgments of proliferation potential must not be based on a fairy-tale vision of nuclear power which is no longer applicable in tomorrow’s world.  The proliferation-resistant natural uranium fuel cycle never really existed, as I will explain below, and even the concept is soon to be a thing of the past.
The ACR (Advanced CANDU reactor) has been designed in such a way that it cannot operate without the use of enriched uranium fuel (or plutonium-spiked fuel).  So enrichment technology will be essential to future CANDUs, giving the CANDU no proliferation advantage over its competitors on that ground.
Thus AECL itself is undermining one of the purported proliferation-resistant  advantages of current CANDU technology.

Moreover, as the term “natural uranium fuel cycle ” implies, nuclear advocates have the firm intention to recycle the irradiated CANDU fuel — something which has so far not been done in any CANDU context except for India.  Using its CANDU clones, India is ahead of the curve on this one. (Canada sold India a few CANDU reactors in the early years, before India exploded its first atomic bomb in 1974 using plutonium from a Canadian research reactor that was given to India as a gift from the Government of Canada. After that Canada would not sell India any more reactors, so India went ahead and built dozens more of their own by copying — or “cloning” — the CANDU design.)
As soon as “recycling” starts being done on a regular basis, which is and always  has been the intention of our nuclear promoters, then the natural “firewall” that  currently makes the plutonium in irradiated fuel unavailable to nations or terrorists will be removed.  With the separation of fission products from the fissile materials, there is no real physical obstacle to obtaining plutonium for weapons use — it’s just chemistry.
Sandia Labs’ “Proliferation Vulnerability” Report states unequivocally that “All plutonium from all stages of all alternatives can be made weapons usable”, and that “a small, well-prepared group could recover sufficient plutonium for a device within perhaps two months,” and that no utility barrier such as admixture with uranium or addition of a modest radiation barrier, is sufficient to change this picture.  Thus “Keeping plutonium inaccessible is the key to proliferation resistance.” http://www.ccnr.org/plute_sandia.html
But across the country and across the world, nuclear proponents are now making it clear that a nuclear renaissance implies nuclear recycling, or to give it its proper technical term, reprocessing – these are the three R’s of the nuclear future.
Thus the civilian nuclear industry itself is going to invest billions in infrastructure, which will in effect make plutonium MORE available, not LESS.
If the Obama administration is able to bring about a commitment to the elimination of nuclear weapons, it will involve a Fissile Materials Cut-Off Treaty which outlaws the production of plutonium FOR THE PURPOSE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS USE.
However it does NOT outlaw the production of plutonium for non-weapons use.
Thus in the future, the easiest way to circumvent any treaty agreements against nuclear weapons will be to divert the civilian stocks of plutonium to military use.
In reality, you cannot ban a material based only on its INTENTION.  It has to be made
UNAVAILABLE.  That’s why recycling = reprocessing = renaissance will undermine any effort to make the world nuclear weapons free.
As Nobel-prize-winning physicist Hannes Alfven wrote long ago, nuclear power is safe only if it operates in a technological paradise.  But the technological paradise does not exist — it is a false picture painted by those who fervently desire the world to be all neat and orderly (where everyone is bound to obey all the rules) but who cannot make that world a reality.
_________________________
Comment by Gordon Edwards

Weapons-grade uranium is also called Highly-Enriched Uranium, abbreviated HEU. With HEU, it is possible to make a very powerful nuclear bomb using a relatively simple explosive mechanism.
Such a bomb does not have to be tested, because there is no doubt that it will work and that it will be extremely powerful.  The first bomb made from HEU was “Little Boy”, the bomb that was dropped on the city of Hiroshima on August 6 1945.  The bomb was never tested in advance because there was no need to do so.
The production of medical isotopes at Chalk River has depended on the use of weapons-grade uranium as a “target”.  When such a target is bombarded with neutrons, nuclear fission occurs.  This is needed in order to create molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) — a fission product that is packaged and sent to hospitals, where it is used as a source of  technetium-99m (Tc-99m) [a radioactive isotope that is widely used to obtain images of the internal organs of patients].
One of the goals of non-proliferation policy in the USA and world-wide is to stop all trafficking in HEU for any purposes whatsoever, whether civilian or military, because of the enormous security risk it poses. If LEU (= low-enriched uranium) is used instead of HEU, the security risk vanishes — because it is impossible to make an atomic bomb with LEU.
Recently, McMaster University in Hamilton Ontario has suggested that it could take over at least some of the production of molybdenum-99 by using its pool-type research reactor, located right in the heart of the university campus — presumably as the neutron source to irradiate the HEU targets.
Dr, Frank Greening, who worked in the nuclear division of Ontario Hydro for over 20 years, is now retired and living in Hamilton.  He is strongly opposed to the idea of using the McMaster reactor for isotope production.
_________________________
STUDY SHOWS: NUCLEAR ENERGY ON DOWNWARD TREND WORLDWIDE
Minister Gabriel: There is no renaissance of nuclear energy
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
No. 278/09, Berlin, 27.08.2009

The share of nuclear energy in worldwide energy consumption is marginal and
has been declining for several years. This is revealed in a study by independent
experts of the energy and nuclear sector which was published by the Federal
Environment Ministry today.
As Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said: “The renaissance of nuclear
energy, much trumpeted by its supporters, is not taking place. The only thing
frequently revived is the announcement. The study shows: the number of old
nuclear power plants which are decommissioned worldwide is greater than the
number of new ones taking up operation.
article at: http://www.bmu.de/english/current_press_releases/pm/44840.php
based on: The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2009, with Particular Emphasis on Economic Issues
_________________________
PLANS TO BURY IRRADIATED NUCLEAR FUEL – comment by Gordon Edwards
The human race has never successfully disposed of anything. The word “disposal” is undefined in scientific terms and should not be used. The only way we know to truly get rid of dangerous material is to destroy it, or to neutralize it.  We do not have the ability to do either with radioactive waste….
Without a nuclear phase-out plan, burying nuclear waste under-ground can NOT make the world safe from the threat of a massive nuclear catastrophe caused by the dispersal of unburied waste. To understand why, see http://ccnr.org/K-9_syndrome.ppt .
Plans to bury irradiated nuclear fuel are really motivated by two desires:  (1) to solve the industry’s public relations problem so it can continue to produce more and more of the stuff, and (2) to get the irradiated fuel into one centralized location for reprocessing — which means dissolving the irradiated fuel in nitric acid to allow for the extraction of the small percentage of plutonium contained in the irradiated fuel, leaving millions of gallons of high-level liquid radioactive waste behind to be resolidified and eventually buried as radioactive waste.
In my view, geologic disposal is not a plan to make the world safer from nuclear wastes, but a pretext to give the nuclear industry a chance to expand for centuries to come, making the world less safe by creating horrific security problems through the “plutonium economy”, and making the radioactive waste problem more intractable.
_________________________
Comment by Gordon Edwards on article that follows:
A word of caution: fly ash from coal plants contains many pollutants besides uranium. To single out uranium as the sole cause of the children’s illnesses may turn out to be unjustified.

Nevertheless the following report is shocking whatever the cause of the illnesses observed.  It is sad that the nuclear authorities insist on denying any dangers from radioactive contaminants such as uranium without performing the necessary studies to determine the truth. This same approach — blanket denial — is used in connection with DU munitions.  It is an unscientific, I might even say an anti-scientific approach.

Children crippled by India’s uranium waste:
An Observer investigation has discovered a link between Indian electricity stations
and physical and mental abnormalities
By Gethin Chamberlain in Punjab; The Observer (London); August 23, 2009

Hundreds of children in the Punjab have been contaminated with uranium in a pollution scandal with implications that could extend far beyond the borders of India.
Scientists and health workers have sounded the alarm after being confronted with a dramatic rise in birth defects, physical and mental abnormalities, and cancers in the Indian state. A subsequent Observer investigation has uncovered evidence linking the contamination to ash from the region’s coal-fired power stations.
article at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/23/india-uranium-pollution-birth-defects
_________________________
GERMAN BUNDESWEHR MANUAL CHALLENGES US AND UK DENIALS OVER DEPLETED URANIUM IN AFGHANISTAN

A classified German Army manual has thrown doubt over US and UK assurances that no depleted uranium munitions have been used in Afghanistan.

21 July 2009 - ICBUW = International Campaign to Ban Uranium Weapons

A military manual that was handed over to German campaigners has reignited allegations that the US used DU ammunition in Afghanistan. If true, it runs counter to repeated assurances given by the US military that no DU was used. The manual, a war-fighting guide for Bundeswehr contigents in Afghanistan is marked classified and for official NATO use only. It was written by the Bundeswehr’s Centre for Communication and published in late 2005.
Campaigners have long suspected that the US military has not been entirely candid over the issue and papers have emerged showing that DU munitions were transported to Afghanistan.
article at: http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/283.html
_________________________
TRUCKERS EXPOSED TO RADIATION DURING LONG HAUL

The Canadian Press, Tue. Aug. 4 2009

OTTAWA — Two truckers were exposed to excessive doses of radiation last year while hauling a radioactive device across the country, newly released documents show.

A preliminary investigation by Canada’s nuclear-safety watchdog found the drivers got more than their yearly limit of radiation on a six-day trip last December.
article at: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090804/trucker_radiation_090804?s_name=&no_ads=
_________________________
NUCLEAR SUICIDE

Sunday, 02 August 2009 , Stephen Starr and Peter King

The Australian government is showing renewed interest in nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, as evidenced by the creation of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND) last year.
But there is little evidence yet that either the government or the Commission is fully alert to the most momentous truth of the present era: Our best science now predicts that nuclear arsenals are fundamentally incompatible with continued human existence.

article at: http://www.sciencealert.com.au/opinions/20090208-19496.html
_________________________
Comment by Gordon Edwards:

Shut-down of the NRU reactor at Chalk River because of a corroded and leaking reactor vessel led to a shortage of certain medical isotopes worldwide.  The NRU was responsible for about one-third of the world’s supply of reactor-produced medical isotopes.  The supply of accelerator-produced isotopes was unaffected.
Anticipating that the NRU would be permanently retired in 2000, AECL designed and built two replacement reactors called Maple-1 and Maple-2.
Each of these reactors would have been able to completely replace the output of the NRU in terms of medical isotopes.  But a serious design flaw made the reactors unsafe to operate.  Despite eight years of effort, none of the reactor experts at AECL or in other locations around the world were able to figure out WHY the Maple reactors were operating unsafely, and they finally gave up.  The reactors have been abandoned and have been slated for dismantling (at public expense).
_________________________
MAPLE REACTORS NOT A QUICK FIX TO THE GLOBAL ISOTOPE ISSUE
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited — News Release

Mississauga, 2009 July 30 — In response to a statement issued today by MDS Nordion on how the MAPLE reactors could solve the isotope crisis within 24 months, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) issued the following summary of an opinion editorial published by Dr. Jean-Pierre Labrie, AECL’s Manager of Reactor Physics and Systems Behaviour, Office of the Chief Engineer, on the status of the MAPLE reactors.
Contrary to reports that the MAPLE reactors are the short-term answer to today’s global medical isotope shortage, there are significant technical and regulatory hurdles that require, in the best-case scenario, at least five to six years of intensive research and analysis before we can even consider bringing the MAPLE reactors on-line.

In May 2008, AECL announced the discontinued development of the MAPLE reactors.
The main hurdle to completing the reactors was, and remains, resolving a power coefficient of reactivity (PCR) issue.
The MAPLEs were first-of-a-kind experimental reactors with technical risks known at the onset. The reactors were licensed by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
(CNSC) to operate with a small negative PCR. That means the core reactivity was to decrease as power increased. In June 2003, commissioning was put on hold when test data analysis indicated the reactor had a small positive PCR.
Extensive scientific analysis, consultations with the Korea Atomic Energy Research
Institute and tests conducted between June 2003 and May 2008 could not resolve the PCR issue.
In addition, neither AECL nor its retained experts, including Brookhaven National
Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory and Argentinean INVAP, which  recently completed Australia’s OPAL research reactor, were able to determine the cause
of the positive PCR.
Beyond resolving the MAPLE PCR issue, the associated processing facility would need to be commissioned and the isotope product approved for use by regulatory authorities before these facilities could be brought on-line to supply medical isotopes. Resurrecting the MAPLE project is not a quick fix to today’s global isotope issue.

-30-
For more information contact:
Dale Coffin
Director, Corporate Communications
AECL, 1-866-886-(AECL) 2325
_________________________
URANIUM TRAVELS NERVES FROM NOSE TO BRAIN.
Jul 31, 2009, Tournier, BB, S Frelon, E Tourlonias, L Agez, O Delissen, I Dublineau, F Paquet, and F Petitot. 2009.

Role of the olfactory receptor neurons in the direct transport of inhaled uranium to the rat brain.
Toxicology Letters doi:10.1016/j.toxlet.2009.05.022. Synopsis by Paul Eubig, DVM
Radioactive uranium that is inhaled by soldiers on the battlefield and by workers in factories may bypass the brain’s protective barrier by following nerves from the nose directly to the brain.
Nerves can act as a unique conduit, carrying inhaled uranium from the nose directly to the brain, finds a study with rats. Once in the brain, the uranium may affect task and decision-related types of thinking.

article at: http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/inhaled-uranium-enters-brain-through-the-nose/

_________________________
IS IT TIME TO PRESS RESET ON NUCLEAR?

Cost overruns, delays in building reactors are sapping a nuclear revival
Kathryn Blaze Carlson, National Post, Friday, July 31, 2009

In a throwback to its tumultuous past, nuclear power is teetering on the brink of renaissance or relapse, waffling between a return to its golden age and a slow demise.
The world’s relationship with nuclear has long been unstable, beginning in the 1960s when governments first embraced the energy source, then declining in the 1980s after projects grew grossly over budget and two major nuclear disasters rocked confidence.

Article at: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1850679
_________________________
REBUTTING THE STANDARD ARGUMENTS AGAINST NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

By George Perkovich and James M. Acton
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 15 July 2009

In any debate, there is a tendency to set up and knock down straw men. The emerging debate about whether the United States should work toward abolishing nuclear weapons is no different.
Certainly, there is much room for serious disagreement about whether a nuclear-weapon-free world is achievable or even worthwhile. In fact, such discussion is welcomed. Unfortunately, opponents of abolishing nuclear weapons tend to make their case by rebutting a selection of five weak arguments that the growing bipartisan movement of nuclear zero supporters led by realists such as Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, Bill Perry and Sam Nunn rarely use. In the interest of improving the quality of the debate in future, here’s how disarmament proponents should respond to the “fatuous five”:

Article at: http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/op-eds/rebutting-the-standard-arguments-against-disarmament
_________________________
KRÜMMEL ACCIDENT PUTS QUESTION MARK  OVER GERMANY’S NUCLEAR FUTURE

By SPIEGEL Staff, July 13, 2009
Spiegel Online

The recent accident at the Krümmel nuclear power plant in northern Germany was more serious than was previously known. Anglea Merkel’s Christian Democrats are now finding themselves on the defensive with their plans to extend the life of German nuclear reactors.
Ernst Michael Züfle should never sit down at a poker table, at least not when real money is at stake. When asked last Thursday about damage to the reactor of the Krümmel nuclear power plant, Züfle, the head of the nuclear division of Swedish energy company Vattenfall, swallowed audibly, nervously rolled his pen between his fingers and avoided making eye contact.

Article at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,druck-635788,00.html
_________________________
CNSC PROTECTS INDUSTRY, MISINFORMS CANADIANS
Letter to the Editor       July 2, 2009
Submitted for publication in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix

Judging by his letter [Saturday, June 27] the president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) thinks that shielding the nuclear industry is more important than providing accurate information to the public and to Canada’s atomic workers.
The CNSC has a responsibility to protect the health and safety of Canadians.  It also has a specific legal obligation to “disseminate objective scientific information” about the nature of the risks associated with nuclear facilities.
Yet Mr. Binder grossly misrepresents the scientific findings of a 15-nation study of atomic workers by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), affiliated with the World Health Organization.
The IARC study found that chronic exposure of atomic workers to low-level radiation does cause a statistically significant increase in cancers.  Moreover, the results indicate that the risk factor is about 6 times higher than previously estimated, based on the survivors of the world war 2 atomic bombings of  Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Even more important is the fact that Canadian atomic workers are at much higher risk (about three times higher) than the atomic workers from other countries.
Instead of communicating this important information, Mr. Binder denies that there is any increased risk at all due to radiation exposure.
He says that atomic workers are healthier than the average Canadian.  True, but every health scientist knows about the fallacy of “the healthy worker effect”. Just because workers are healthier than average, that doesn’t mean that some of them may not be suffering from industrially-induced diseases, as the IARC study convincingly documents.
Mr. Binder also implies that there is no evidence of extra risk among the general population from living in the vicinity of nuclear facilities.  Yet a recent study commissioned by the German Government shows a statistically significant increase in leukemia among children under five years of age living within five kilometres of a nuclear reactor.  Contrary to Mr. Binder’s remarks, the authors of the study did not “rule out” radiation as a cause; they simply said that current radiation risk estimates could not account for the large amount of excess leukemia.
Perhaps if it had some health professionals on staff and were not reporting to the Minister of Natural Resources, who champions nuclear power, the CNSC might evolve into a more responsible organization — educating the public instead of keeping them in the dark.
Gordon Edwards, Ph.D., President, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility.
______________________________________
RADIATION REPORT FLAWED

The Star Phoenix June 27, 2009

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) disagrees with the stated
conclusions of the article, Nuke plants hike cancer risk: report (SP, June 23),
concerning health risks to nuclear plant workers. Canadian nuclear workers
are healthier than the general Canadian population and there is no evidence
that people living near nuclear power stations have increased risk of any disease.
The CNSC was surprised that the report failed to mention the important
conclusion of the 15-country study (IARC study) that Canadian nuclear
workers have a 24 per cent lower risk of all cancers in comparison to the
Canadian population.
Article at: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Health/Radiation+report+flawed/1738400/story.html

October 1st, 2009 | Category: music | Leave a comment

October 1st, 2009 | Tags: Almonte, Arnprior, Brent Ringer, Jimmy Flynn, kemptville, Linda Betts, Renfrew | Category: biz, politics | Leave a comment

Helas, despite a lot of hard work preparing this tour, the headliner Jimmy Flynn of the five anticipated concerts in Almonte, Arnprior, Renfrew, Cornwall and Smiths Falls canceled all of them. As PEACEWORK was never on the tickets, neither mentioned in the advertising, it seems useless to play those shows.

Due to a death in the family of the entertainer and slow ticket sales, the devastating storm in Nova Scotia, Flynn preferred to spend the time at home instead. Our compassion and heart goes out to him and his wife, Sylvie.

To all our fans anticipating any of the shows we’d like to apologize - to put it with Richard Flohil’s words from this morning: “Shit happens”, to sum it up with Scott’s eternal outlook: “Till the next adventure!”

September 1st, 2009 | Tags: Almonte, Arnprior, Cornwall, Jimmy Flynn, PEACEWORK, Renfrew, Richard Flohil, Smiths Falls | Category: music | Leave a comment

Spotlight
Scott and Mike and Brian: U guys were so hard working, resourceful, humble, well organized and prepared, that’s how u wanna be live. So the sound was awesome and everything was ready and started right on time - great job, guys!
Then I wanna thank the beautiful audience in the room: thank u 4 coming out on Wednesday, your presence made that night so much better!

Ideas
This is what we as an organizer and promoter of shows with local live entertainment experienced on side of the host of this event:

The ever so dilettantish appearing Municipality of North Grenville (NG), Kemptville staff, here referred to as the “the bureaucrats”.

On special request of NG mayor Bill Gooch, a popular entertainer from the East coast was hired by a third party, referred to as “the promoter”, who in turn also was responsible for preparation and performance of the show which - technically - were a great success. The mayor assured, the bureaucrats would go out of their way to sell about 100 tickets amongst staff and promote the show accordingly.

Wind
The entertainer supplied some hundred posters which the promoter and staff tried to place in popular places. That effort was faced with resistance from many Kemptville businesses who maintain a from the mayor’s differing view, e.g. as to how economically develop the community. The bureaucrats placed posters in said building which also hosts the Municipality’s offices, theatre and hockey arena. Previous promoters having had the same negative experience with the bureaucrats now seem to boycott any activity at the Municipal Centre for no other reason than tunnel-visioned vengeance on top of that. Then also here a surprising ray of sun: I personally placed four posters in the interior of popular Manotick businesses and met a lady on the night of the event, mentioning, that that poster was how she found out about the show. Posters work! Would be better to put them up, though.

Dance
How absolutely impossible it seems to interest local editors to inform their readers about entertainment happening in the community without buying one’s way into it with a paid ad (which was quoted bluntly on the phone by one of the local - what should I call them? - “pen-swinging prostitutes” as to be proper way to receive a mention in an article) instead of letting the reader have their choice, actually enabling the reader to make an informed decision instead of making the decision for the reader. The question of said undertaking being commercial or not is rather insignificant if reader satisfaction is at all a factor in running a newspaper, but that doesn’t seem to have any impact on the way things go down here. And never mind journalistic independence. Anybody? humh, big phat silence.

Many people in the audience expressed their frustration, how useless it is to read about an event after it’s over which seems to be the current practice. Ever wondered why your local paper doesn’t have any readers anymore? Well, my dear local wanna-be-editors and -publishers: it’s because you don’t manage to tell them anything new (meaning, something they don’t already know). Working in a NEWspaper, that looks pretty much like nothing but totally missing the calling, then again, anybody care? I’d just like to take you by the hand and show you for ONE day, what it’s like to try to bring together live entertainment and music in Kemptville.

But you VIPs (my brother always turned that into “very impotent person”) rather go and catch the next big spender, I take it.

Trade
Despite of a huge advertising sign in front of the premises of Community Living on County Road 43 being empty for weeks before the event, no effort by the bureaucrats is known to have placed any advertising info about the event. That same sign now advertises a different event hosted by the bureaucrats, “Alice in Wonderland” being performed yesterday and tonight.

In the first week of the sale, about three weeks prior to the night of the event, staff of the bureaucrats did not give out any tickets on reception of numerous phone calls of potential attending audience members, referring to “only taking reservations”, obviously having no info about the fact that there were a sufficient number of paper tickets already placed at the discretion of the bureaucrats.

Now mind you: the practice of the bureaucrats is to keep ticket sale monies until all their written and post-contract-costs are covered. Thus the promoter never saw a penny of his own event except for his own ticket sales.

Showtime
On the night of the event the change room, being an integral part of the signed agreement between the promoter and the bureaucrats, remained locked at all times. The patio enclosure consisting of ropes and heavy polls on the back of the building made it a hassle to get heavy equipment such as the PA in and out of the building as vehicles would have to run over lawn and the basement dirt to back flush to the back door for loading. Was there any musician involved in the design of that building? Hardly.

After the contract was signed by both parties, the promoter kept on receiving several addenda (latin plural of addendum), which made a joke of the original cost calculation. As a result, the weakest element in this chain, performers, sound tecs and roadies, a low-income-group to begin with looking at the overall federal average, is bearing the consequences of neglect and careless attitude of egotistical autocrats doing nothing but sitting on their precious behinds in utter ignorance of their signed contract and commitment instead of bringing the audience that they promised.

Do people in Kemptville have a heart for the performing arts? If so, they appear very sophisticated at concealing it.

Pouring out
Now the reason why I publish all this is the fact that the bureaucrats are wasting public money once more, and that in a near vicious seeming multilevel way: A lot of people who should have had a say in how to organize and build a community centre did not see any significant realization of their input. The remaining and ongoing inability to bridge those differences amongst the people of Kemptville prevents current events in that location from the magic that can only happen if everybody puts the arts first. Vanity should be tolerated only on side of the entertainer and certainly was spoken for that night in form of stylish yellow hats!

The only consolation is the fact, that the concerts to come are already selling more in the first week than the Kemptville concert in the whole three weeks of ticket sales. If anybody would like to put up posters along the way please send me an email to maren(at)peaceworkband.ca. Coz’ guess what: I still got lots!

Dedication
Now remember folks, this is not a researched article, just a blog entry from somebody passionate about live music aiming to be of service for others trying to bring together some fun times…

August 28th, 2009 | Tags: BUREAUCRATS, kemptville, LIVE MUSIC, Municipality of North Grenville, ontario, PEACEWORK | Category: biz, politics | Leave a comment

Wow.
It’s like the Brent universe strikes back. Not in my wildest dreams.

He just booked some far out places for us, some old-fashioned Inns and Clubs of the better days of live music, where the folk on the countryside liked to get off the couch and dance instead of flipping through 57 channnels and have nothing on, to say it with Bruce Springsteen, I wonder if I should get some bodyguard hired or something.

Really curious and somehow certain that it’s gonna be a really cool experience… well, people, I’m all about sharing, so come on out and have a giggle and a smile with us!

Oh, and oh yeah, Lou, your glasses r pretty cool!

pps: just discovered sum Casbah mail, so that’s been postponed, maybe a good thing, as we might hit more of those college students later in the school year.

August 12th, 2009 | Tags: acoustic, Eastern Ontario, gig, Jimmy Flinn, La Casbah, live, music, PEACEWORK, show | Category: magic, music | Leave a comment

Hey everybody,

hope u made it through this wet first half of summer alright - I so enjoy the humidity, makes breathing and singing so much easier…

Well I just thought I’d give u a head’s up about some of our upcoming gigs, because I managed to book a gig in the States @ La Casbah in beautiful Potsdam, NY State, just an hour south of Prescott, or not even. Moroccan cuisine, yumh, can’t wait to get there. Looks like a really nice place, check out their venue on myspace. We’re on Friday the 21st, and it’s gonna go up on their calender as soon as the booking manager is back from Europe, I suppose.

Then, only five days later we will be doing a combined show together with comedian Jimmy Flynn in - believe it or not - KEMPTVILLE, and that’s in the Municipal Centre, in the Community Hall which is known for excellent acoustics. Just click on the “i” for info on the Shows-page, and order your tickets online here or at the door, which open @ 8h pm.

For our Merrickville community we are looking forward to return to the crime scene on the eighths of August and I can’t wait to all those familiar faces again - somewhat miss u pple, since we moved - really excited about all that live action, especially as we wrote/arranged some new and/or unheard songs lately.

Counting on u making at least one of those gigs coz’ live music only goes with live people!

July 31st, 2009 | Tags: August, gigs, Jimmy Flynn, kemptville, La Casbah, live, Merrickville, music, NY State, party, PEACEWORK, Potsdam, show, summer | Category: music | Leave a comment

we gonna rock her 2nite @ Harry Mc Lean’s in Merrickville, unless Scott gets swallowed by a sea, uhm, Rideau serpent… check the details on the shows page by clicking on the “i” for info.

June 27th, 2009 | Tags: baldachin inn, Harry McLean's, live, Merrickville, music, PEACEWORK | Category: magic, music | Leave a comment

From: “Uranium News”
To: greenlynndaniluk@yahoo.ca

EVENT REMINDER:
CCAMU FUND RAISING DANCE: JUNE 28TH
ARDOCH PRAY FOR THE LAND: JUNE 28TH
DETAILS BELOW

IN THIS ISSUE:

1) CCAMU EVENT REMINDER: FUND RAISING DANCE: JUNE 28TH
2) ARDOCH PRAY FOR THE LAND EVENT: JUNE 28TH
3) CCAMU MEDIA RELEASE: SHABOT OBAADJIWAN WITHDRAWS FROM MOU
4) COMMUNITY URANIUM MEETING: JULY 26TH
5) BENFORD MINING ALERT AGM: JULY 25TH
6) PETITION TO FEDERAL COMMISSIONER OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
7) CANADIAN NUCLEAR SAFETY COMMISSION NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
ARTICLE: PERMIT DELAY WORRIES URANIUM HOPEFULS
9) ARTICLE: A FAR NORTH SMOKESCREEN FOR MINING COMPANIES
10) LETTER: GREED DRIVING URANIUM BUSINESS

———————————

1) CCAMU EVENT REMINDER: FUND RAISING DANCE: JUNE 28TH

BEATLEJUICE ROCKS AGAINST RADIOACTIVE ROCK!

Looking to teleport back to the 1960’s and have some fun this summer? Well, look no further. We have the event for you. Beatlejuice, the fabulous Beatle’s cover band, is returning to Maberly Hall and promises to get you up and dancing! Beatlejuice sounds so much like the real thing, people have thought that they were listening to a lip-sync act.

So come on out and rock the hall against radioactive rock…

Date: Sunday, June 28, 2009 (The 2nd anniversary of the Frontenac/Lanark Uranium Mining Blockade at Robertsville)
Time: Potluck dinner starts at 5pm followed by Beatlejuice at 7pm
Place: Maberly Hall, Maberly
(Just North of #7 Hwy, 20 minutes west of Perth, 10 minutes east of Sharbot Lake)
Cost: $10 (minimum) donation at the door

This is a Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU) fund raiser. The same group that brought you the Uranium Citizens’ Inquiry is now raising funds to bring world renowned Dr. Helen Caldicott, MD from Australia to Eastern Ontario.

The single most articulate and passionate advocate of citizen action to remedy the nuclear and environmental crises, Dr Caldicott, has devoted the last 35 years to an international campaign to educate the public about the medical hazards of the nuclear age and the necessary changes in human behavior to stop environmental destruction.
For more information about Dr. Caldicott go to http://www.helencaldicott.com/index.htm
For information on CCAMU: www.ccamu.ca
For information on the Uranium Citizens’ Inquiry: www.uraniumcitizensinquiry.com

———————-

2) ARDOCH PRAY FOR THE LAND EVENT: JUNE 28TH

The frontline in the struggle to protect the earth is here, right now. You can touch it. You can hear it. You can feel it. Around the world ordinary people are expressing their deep desire to live right by our planet. Some folks are willing to risk everything in order to stand up for creation and their place in it. On June 28th we want you to turn your thoughts, meditations and prayers toward the land. Please join the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation at the Robertsville mine site to Pray for the Land.

Please bring a positive attitude, water (but not bottled), food to share with others, appropriate clothing, (a raincoat and umbrella), your music, something to sit on, courage and conviction. There could be ten participants or a hundred (or more). Pray for the Land will take place on the road allowance at Robertsville. Although the site may not have amenities keep in mind that many of the great gatherings have taken place alongside a road between somewhere and elsewhere. Come prepared to adjust, sustain, and be generous.

The day will begin with a sunrise ceremony. It is expected that people will come for all day or for a few minutes. There will be opportunities for people of all faith groups to gather and share with others. The gathering at Robertsville will finish around 5pm.

Please, no drugs, alcohol or money collections.

For information:
Robert Lovelace
705-748-9685
lovelace@queensu.ca

Mireille LaPointe
613-273-3530
lapointe@rideau.net

Directions: From Toronto – 401 to Kingston, North on 38 highway, turn left on Highway 7, turn right on 509 toward Ompah. Robertsville is 10 minutes north of highway 7.

From Ottawa – Highway 7, past Carleton Place, past Perth, just past the turn to Sharbot Lake, turn right on 509 toward Ompah. Robertsville is 10 minutes north of highway 7.

Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium - CCAMU will be hosting a Pot Luck Dinner at 5pm and Beetlejuice, a great cover band, at 7pm at the Maberly Hall. The cost of the Dinner and Entertainment is $10. Proceeds will go to bring Dr. Helen Caldicott from Australia to Eastern Canada.

For information: www.ccamu.ca

————————-

3) CCAMU MEDIA RELEASE: SHABOT OBAADJIWAN WITHDRAWS FROM MOU

June 15, 2009

A letter to Doug Carr, Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, indicates a withdrawal of the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation from the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between government, Frontenac Ventures Corporation and First Nations, signed in Nov. 2008. As stated in the letter, “…incidents and the fact that, at minimum, the spirit and intent of the MOU has been compromised, Shabot are withdrawing from the MOU until further notice. I am also instructed to advise you that under no circumstances will Shabot permit drilling on the impugned lands at this time. I wish to advise that Shabot is currently considering its options, which may include placing these matters before Justice Cunningham and/or returning to the land, without notice, to protect it from any further drilling.”

The Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU) applauds the withdrawal of the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation from the MOU.

“Our position has not changed. We oppose exploration for uranium in eastern Ontario,” says Lynn Daniluk of CCAMU.

“While we believe that the Shabot negotiated in good faith, we are not surprised that the conditions of the MOU have not been met. This situation is an example of “consultation and accommodation” which, in reality, seems to mean that exploration will go ahead no matter what the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM) and the mining industry have agreed to.”

CCAMU notes that any changes to the Mining Act that does not require free, prior and informed consent of First Nations, including the right to say NO to exploration, will result in similar disappointment, breaches of trust and conflict.

It is CCAMU’s position that because of the impacts of uranium:

1) a comprehensive environmental assessment should be undertaken before exploration begins, and
2) the decisions of local communities should be considered before any exploration for uranium is undertaken.

—————————-

4) COMMUNITY URANIUM MEETING: JULY 26TH

July 26, 2009, with guest speaker Susanne Lauten

Please mark your calendar for a special uranium information day

Date: Sunday, July 26, 2009
Time: 2-5pm
Place: Maberly Hall, Maberly Ontario

Come and learn about The Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU) Summer Watershed Awareness Project on July 26th at the Maberly Hall from 2 to 5 p.m., and hear guest speaker, Susanne Lauten, founder of Cottagers against Uranium Mining and Exploration (CUME).

In an effort to involve them in the protection of their local environment, The Watershed Awareness Project will reach out to people living in the Mississippi watershed, as they will be most affected by the ongoing exploration and proposed mine at Robertsville, north of Sharbot Lake. “Our team will provide material that describes the area and how it will be impacted. Our intention is to inform the wider population about the issues so that they will be able to respond to each issue as the mining process evolves,” says Ormond Lee of CCAMU.

CCAMU and CUME’s share a common goal of securing a moratorium similar to those in NS and NB. ” CUME’s goal is to win a moratorium like that of Nova Scotia, but to
eventually achieve a legislated ban on uranium and thorium mining like the
one granted in British Columbia in 2008,” says Susanne Lauten. Ms. Lauten has been featured in numerous articles, including in Cottage Life magazine and on TV and is on a speaking tour to inform cottagers, in particular, about the issue. At the Maberly meeting, she will present issues related to ongoing exploration for uranium in neighbouring Haliburton and the efforts to stop those activities.

Of note as well, CUME is sponsoring an Ontario-wide, anti-uranium protest rally that will be held at Queens Park, on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009, 2:00-4:00pm. Excellent speakers will be on hand to share their expertise between musical interludes. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Our grandchildren and those not yet born would ask no less than our commitment to raise awareness and establish a moratorium.

———————————

5) BENFORD MINING ALERT AGM: JULY 25TH

Bedford Mining Alert Invites you to our 10th Annual General Meeting on

10:00 am Saturday July 25, 2009

at

The Bedford Community Hall

(1381 Westport Road approximately 8 km east of Godfrey)

Featuring:

Michael Brown MPP

Parliamentary Assistant to Minister Gravelle

The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines

There will be an opportunity for questions relating to the Mining Amendment Act.

The Mining Act has undergone a review and proposed changes were introduced in the legislature on April 30, 2009 . The Bill has gone through second reading in the House and has been assigned to Committee which will hold hearings during the summer.

It promises to be an interesting and informative meeting. It is important to have a good representation from the community and elected officials in order to show the extent of our concerns.

———————–

6) PETITION TO FEDERAL COMMISSIONER OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Hello Scott Reid,

We thought you should be aware of the attached petition sent on 11th June to the Federal Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. This petition and its two attachments document environmental damage in the Mississippi River watershed from uranium exploration activities during 2006-2008 in the Crotch Lake area. It also documents a major ongoing uranium exploration program in your riding that has been fully approved by the Province, in spite of calls for a moratorium from local residents, 23 municipal councils, and thousands of eastern Ontario voters.

FYI, the local Shabot Algonquins recently pulled out of the MOU signed with the Province in November 2008 due to a number of substantive facts that were not disclosed to them by the Province or the mineral exploration company when the MOU was negotiated. These facts include significant diamond drilling and diamond saw cutting from rock in the shallow waters of a trout lake near Crotch Lake, which we had to take action to expose due to the Province’s lack of monitoring.

More importantly from a political standpoint, for mineral exploration activities in Ontario, our research has documented systemic failure by the McGuinty Liberals to meet the Province’s commitments under the Fisheries Act and associated federal-provincial environmental compliance protocols to monitor and respond to environmental occurrences that could threaten fish habitat and associated water quality. Ontario’s Liberal government seems to be desperate to encourage mineral development in the Province at any cost, and we believe that this ill-advised policy could have increasingly serious economic, social and environmental impacts in your riding. Janet Gutowski, Warden of Frontenac County, calls uranium exploration and potential mining a “wet blanket” on sustainable development in the County. I do not think you want to be known as the federal MP who allowed this to happen.

Our petition to the Commissioner, also sent to the Ontario Commissioner of the Environment, asks the federal Minister of Fisheries & Oceans and Minister of the Environment to investigate and to take action to bring Ontario back into compliance. We ask you to get personally involved to ensure that our questions are answered and our calls for investigation and action are acted on.

We are shocked that, via a Declaration Order, the Province can unilaterally alter its commitments under a long-standing federal-provincial agreement. It is clear that the McGuinty Liberals cannot be trusted to properly monitor and regulate the activities of mineral exploration companies in the Province. Please advise what political action you intend to take in this matter.

Thank you in advance for your assistance. Please call to set up a meeting to discuss this matter.

Best regards,

John & Sheila Kittle
North Frontenac

———————-

7) CANADIAN NUCLEAR SAFETY COMMISSION NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/commission/pdf/2009-08-26-Notice-2009-H-04-AECL-PortHope-CMD09-H09-e-Edocs3392036.pdf

June 16, 2009 Ref. 2009-H-04

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) will hold a one-day public hearing to consider

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s (AECL) application for a Waste Nuclear Substance Licence

to operate a long-term low-level waste management facility in Port Hope, Ontario.

The report of the screening Environmental Assessment for this project, which forms part of the

Port Hope Area Initiative (PHAI), was approved by the Commission at a public hearing held in

Ottawa on January 24, 2007.

Hearing: August 26, 2009

Place: Town Park Recreation Centre, 62 McCaul Street, Port Hope, Ontario

Time: as set by the agenda to be published prior to the hearing date

AECL is requesting a licence for the possession, management and storage of nuclear substances

associated with the Welcome Waste Management Facility and for the development and operation

of a new Port Hope Long-Term Waste Management Facility.

The public is invited to comment on AECL’s application. Requests to intervene must be

filed with the Secretary of the Commission by July 27, 2009 directly on-line

(http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/commission/intervention/index.cfm) at or at the

address below. The request must include the following information, as per the Canadian

Nuclear Safety Commission Rules of Procedure:

• a written submission of the comments to be presented to the Commission;

• a statement setting out whether the requester wishes to intervene by way of written

submission only or by way of written submission and oral presentation; and

• name, address and telephone of the requester.

It should be noted that all submissions are available to the public upon request to the Secretariat.

AECL’s submission and CNSC staff’s recommendations to be considered at the hearing will be

available after June 26, 2009. These documents are not available on-line and must be requested

through the Secretariat at the address below. Agendas, hearing transcripts and information on the

hearing process are available at the CNSC Web site.

c/o Louise Levert

Secretariat Tel.: 613-996-9063 or 1-800-668-5284

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission Fax: 613-995-5086

280 Slater St., P.O. Box 1046 E-mail: interventions@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca

Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5S9 CNSC Web site: www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca

————————-

ARTICLE: PERMIT DELAY WORRIES URANIUM HOPEFULS

By Dustin Bleizeffer
Star-Tribune energy reporter

Sunday, June 21, 2009 12:26 AM MDT

“Several proposed uranium mining projects in Wyoming and across the West will be delayed due the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s recent decision requiring a more thorough site-specific analysis for each project.

The NRC will require a supplemental environmental impact statement for each mining project rather than a more simplified environmental assessment, which the agency had considered.

Some officials in the uranium industry claim the NRC overreacted to a groundswell of public concern that they say comes from either ignorance of the in-situ leach mining process or a desire to block uranium mining.”

To read the rest of this article go to,

http://www.casperstartribune.com/articles/2009/06/21/news/wyoming/50d1a9a79c1f0a19872575db005f0300.txt

——————————

9) ARTICLE: A FAR NORTH SMOKESCREEN FOR MINING COMPANIES

By: Peter Gorrie
The Star

Jun 20, 2009

“When does “No” mean “No?”

In Ontario’s Far North, the answer still isn’t clear despite recent changes to two major laws governing that vast wilderness of boreal forest and tundra.

The region has been off-limits to most development, with the exception of the De Beers Canada Victor diamond mine near the James Bay coast and a claim-staking rush for additional diamonds and other minerals.

That activity, and the prospect of far more, has angered environmental groups and caused conflict between mining companies and some of the 37 aboriginal communities that collectively claim most of the 425,000 square kilometres as traditional territories.”

To read the rest of this article go to,

http://www.thestar.com/article/653217

——————————–

10) LETTER: GREED DRIVING URANIUM BUSINESS

The Southwest Booster

By: William Gibbs

“On the issue in the Uranium Development Partnership Report of making more competitive Royalty arrangements for the Uranium Industry, I would like to refer to the Cameco Manageme Proxy Circular April 10,2007 that you can find on the Internet titled Driven to Succeed. It lists the salaries and bonuses of five of their top 20 officials for 2007.

Gerald Grandey’s salary was $950,000 with bonuses amounting to $2,781,058. O. Kim Goheen’s salary was $440,000 with bonuses amounting to $1,226,029. George Assie had a salary of $530,000 with bonuses of $1,505,477. Timothy S. Gitzel’s salary was $440,000 with bonuses of $900,000. Gary S. Chad’s salary was $415,000 and bonuses of $1,063,819.”

To read the rest of this letter go to,

http://www.swbooster.com/index.cfm?sid=259409&sc=45

June 27th, 2009 | Tags: Beatlejuice, bonuses, CCAMU, executives, mining, robertsville site, uranium news | Category: politics, uranium | Leave a comment