Nuclear Energy, Uranium

Labrador - Canada's Nuclear Waste Dump?

By Myles Higgins

Saturday, September 8, 2007

In a today's energy hungry world, where environmental concerns are suddenly at the top of the agenda, nuclear energy is one solution that's becoming more and more acceptable worldwide. The problem, and one that's now being discussed by nations around the world, is finding a way to dispose of the unavoidable nuclear waste this type of energy produces.

It's a trade off. The use of nuclear energy may allow for the reduction of coal or oil fired generating plants, and the emissions they produce, but those concerns become replaced with the problem of what to do with an overabundance of highly radioactive and deadly waste.

With this in mind Stephen Harper is now considering joining an international initiative that would see uranium producing countries accept these waste products back from the customers they supply. This radioactive material would then be buried deep underground in the hope that it remains there for millennia and does not leak out into the environment. It's a big gamble, especially since Canada is a major supplier of uranium to the world market.

While Harper appears willing to entertain the idea of Canada becoming a nuclear waste storage area the question becomes, who will want this deadly waste in their backyard? My guess is that nobody will. The resulting outcry could potentially lead to the application of pressure on those jurisdictions who actually mine the uranium to begin accepting and storing the resulting waste.

Enter Newfoundland and Labrador, or more specifically, Labrador itself.

With new discoveries in Labrador, the region is poised to become a major producer and supplier of uranium as new discoveries are brought online. If the government of Canada decides to join other nations in this nuclear initiative Labrador, with its massive land area and extremely small population, would likely become a preferred choice for the storage of international radioactive waste.

The decision to accept nuclear waste in Canada won't be a popular one. In fact the majority of Canadian's are likely to protest such a move. At the end of the day however, if Ottawa makes the decision to proceed, the waste will have to go somewhere inside Canadian borders and Labrador will likely become a preferred option for the federation.

Non-uranium producing provinces certainly won't want it inside their borders, and rightfully so. This will put pressure on areas with large scale mining operations to accept the waste. If Ottawa signs onto this initiative it will have to go somewhere.

The majority of uranium produced in Canada is mined in the far North of Saskatchewan at present but labrador is believed to contain massive commercial grade deposits. This, combined with easy access to Labrador thanks to it's enormous coastline, could lead to the area being turned into a vast and scenic nuclear waste dump.

As I've said before, Vive le Canada