Concerned

To whom it may concern,

I live in Thunder Bay but frequently travel throught the Wabigoon and Ignace area, and I have some hesitations about this project. 

Firstly, I am concerned about the low-level radioactive waste (LLW) and intermediate-level radioactive waste (ILW) during operations and decommissioning. The allowable amount of radioactive waste near these communities and in this important boreal ecosystem should be zero. The project overview also did not reassure me that this site is not one of the first tests of how well these long-term nuclear fuel isolation methods work in the real environment. Longevity of this ILW storage system needs to be backed with successful case studies and not just theory. 

Given the frequency of traffic accidents on Hwy 11/17, and particularly in the Ignace area, I am concerned about adding additional hazardous material transport along this route. It would pose a high risk to the surrounding communities and environment if the fuel waste transport vehicles were to be involved in a high speed crash. 

Lastly, as a biologist I am concerned about environmental impact such as land clearing and potential hazardous releases like water emissions. Revegetation takes a long time to return the landscape to baseline conditions, if ever. Hazardous emissions via water can get out of hand quickly and there is no reset if the environment is exposed to radioactive material. The clearing alone is likely to impact biodiversity in the area even with limits on noise and physical disturbance, not to mention species at risk. I would like to see more detail on how the use of surrounding lands and water will change, the project description merely states "due to perception". 

I hope you will consider and address these points thoroughly before moving to the next stage of the project.