OTTAWA (CP) – An environmental group says a technology company could soon be dumping radioactive waste into the Ottawa River at Pembroke, Ont. – with the blessing of federal regulators.
The Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility says the tritium waste SRB Technologies creates in making glow-in-the-dark products like exit signs has in the past exceeded that produced by all the country’s nuclear plants combined.
The group wants SRB to modernize its practices, clean up pollutants in local groundwater and stop what it’s calling “out-of-control” dumping; a company spokesman was not immediately available.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, which temporarily suspended SRB operations last August, is holding a licence renewal hearing for the company next Monday.
The environmentalists say SRB is proposing to build a canopy around its stacks to protect the local environment and divert radioactive precipitation into the Ottawa River.
They say commission staff have approved the plan and are recommending regulators lift continuing restrictions on SRB operations, a move the environmentalists describe as “stunningly irrational” evidence the commission needs a major shakeup.
© The Canadian Press 2006